People of Pure
Delight
By Sharon Musgrove
“Look ahead with
joy. Anticipate what I’m creating:
I’ll create Jerusalem
as sheer joy, create my people as pure delight.
I’ll take delight in
my people:
No more sounds of
weeping in the city, no cries of anguish.”
Isaiah 65:18-19 MSG
When you think of heaven, what do you imagine? Do you envision a city of pure gold? Or maybe you wonder who’s going to be there?
Heaven is commonly described by the portrait painted in
Revelation 21; a city built with gleaming gemstones and streets of gold. Less often do we depict the New Jerusalem by
the characteristics of the people there.
While we may be anxious about who gets to pass through those
pearly gates, let us not overlook that God is not just renewing places, but is polishing
His people into “pure delights” for that reunion.
In the Old Testament, Isaiah prophesies over the new heaven
and earth. And unlike the Apostle John’s
vision recorded in the book of Revelation, Isaiah’s account speaks more about
the inhabitants of paradise than the habitat. God’s words tell us how He is renewing His
children.
“All the earlier
troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten.”
Isaiah 65:17 MSG
Reading the book of Isaiah points out that God’s children
can be a source of pure pain. Pain to
God and to the rest of humanity. Mankind’s
bad behavior brings about trouble and chaos.
And we continue this malicious conduct generation after generation.
But Christ.
God announced, generations in advance, that Jesus would come
and save us from our wickedness. And not
only did Jesus pay the price of our sin with his life on the cross, not only
did Christ open the gate for us to enter God’s Kingdom, but he taught how we
can be practicing the characteristics of the new life now.
“Thy Kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10
The Lord’s prayer is that we participate today in the
reality of tomorrow. And we can cooperate
with becoming people of pure delight by ingesting and enacting the teachings of
Christ, beginning that transformation from the inside out.
“Look ahead with
joy. Anticipate what I’m creating....” Isaiah 65:18 MSG
Do you look ahead with joy?
Are you anticipating that new life while feeling the challenges of
change now? The job of a prophet like
Isaiah is to get us to focus on the future.
And the feeling of the future is delight!
We can be certain that the attributes of the new heaven and
earth will indeed be awesome, but, as always, the true delight of God’s kingdom
will be people who are finally unified with both the Creator and to one
another.
“I’ll create
Jerusalem as sheer joy, create my people as pure delight.”
Author
Bio:
Sharon has been writing and teaching biblically based curriculum, Bible studies, and devotionals since 2007.
She has
had the unique position of writing curriculum and teaching for two private,
Christ-based, residential recovery programs. Both programs primarily served
women in the homeless community.
Sharon has
traveled multiple times to Kenya, serving on medical teams and teaching in the
rural Maasai communities. She’s been privileged to speak in Leadership camps intended
on encouraging and empowering the impoverished, underprivileged, and often
abused young women.
Within
these ministries, Sharon has witnessed the transformative power of loving words
spoken to the broken-hearted. Sharing God’s love and witnessing its
transformative power has become her passion.
Sharon and
her husband, divide their time between Oregon and Hawaii. They have two grown
children.
Currently,
Sharon is encouraging others via her inspirational blog, but prefers sharing
face to face. Additionally, she is working towards a degree in Ministry.
~*~
Connect
with Sharon:
Website: Sharonmusgrove.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sharon-Musgrove-Untethered-102208978041060
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonmusgrove_untethered/
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing this
Post a Comment