A Deeply Personal Matter

 

In Isaiah 61, the prophet speaks good news of deliverance.

Isaiah 61:1-2 (NRSVue) - The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, 

This was good news for the many who had been oppressed.

As we recall Easter, we are reminded that Jesus is Good News for the many.

But He is also Good News for the individual.

At the time of His crucifixion, two criminals were executed in the same cruel way.

Like the crowd that taunted Jesus, one of the criminals joined in.

The other criminal was different.

In his darkest hour, he looked upon Jesus with a final request,

Luke 23:42 (NRSVue) – Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”

Jesus had Good News for this man.

Luke 23:43 (NRSVue) - He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The Good News is more than Good News for the masses.

The Good News is also Good News for the individual.

And the moment we accept the Good News, it becomes a deeply personal experience,

Some, like the criminal, may wait until the very end.

Others will postpone it assuming they have plenty of time to accept it.

But we do not have to wait until the end.

We do not have to put it off; deluding ourselves that we will get around to it “someday.”

Perhaps we are afraid that the Good News is a personal matter.

In truth, it is deeply personal.

Perhaps we are afraid that accepting it might forever alter our lives as we know it.

In truth, it changes our lives forever.

It also changes our lives for the better.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, May 2, 2025.

I will be back here on Friday, May 9, 2025