A Sign to the Abandoned

My reflections this week have focused on Isaiah 7:10ff... the passage where God promises to give Ahaz the sign of a child born to a virgin and named Immanuel. The sign is meant to point to peace and prosperity for Ahaz and his country despite enemies quickly closing in.

I've been trying to imagine what it was like to live in Ahaz's time... with enemies always threatening at the borders. A small nation always at the mercy of the next way of conquerors that made their way through the land. Well... not always at their mercy. The history of Israel is full of ups and downs, triumphs and victories, devastating losses and exile. When I read about it on paper, it seems as if things were always changing, always uncertain, always in flux.

And while that may have been the case, I wonder if the people experienced it that way? There must have been generations who felt sure that their prosperity would never end. There must have been others who were convinced that they would always suffer, always live under the threat of violence, always struggle to survive.

There are certainly people today who constantly live under the threat of violence, always suffering, always struggling to survive. Countries constantly at war. Communities constantly at risk. Families where violence is a constant threat. What might a sign mean to them? Would it bring hope? Would it reassure them that they are valued, even loved? Would it remind them of their own worth and dignity? And would that empower them... or make the struggles even more unbearable?

I have no answers in tonight's post... just the photo of an abandoned green house that I pass by every day. A reminder of all those who feel abandoned. That the sign promised to Ahaz is a sign for them.

And perhaps a challenge to God's people. God provided the sign. Perhaps we are to be a part of the fulfillment. Perhaps we are the ones who are to bring about the time of peace, prosperity and abundance for all people. For all people... not just our family or our neighbors. Certainly not just for our own little corners of the world. But for all people.

I think that may require a bit more sacrifice than I have been making lately. A bit more courage. A bit more reckless faith. May God light the way this Advent season.