He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
Luke 1: 52-53
Upon first glance, this verse can feel like an opportunity to fall into the “us vs. them” mentality. It is easy to picture those in positions of wealth and power being sent away empty handed, and thus miss the far more personal challenge to this verse. In the surrounding passage, Mary speaks of how the Lord does not forget His people, despite their conditions, and that he favors those who trust in Him.
Throughout our lives, we will find ourselves on both sides of this coin many times over. Our pride pulls us away from God. We are brought back to him, often through painful means that are necessary to keep the wealth of the world from ensnaring us. But when we are in our lowest points – fraught with worry or loss, that is when the Lord makes his presence known to his people. Whichever way we are being brought, therefore, means that God is pulling us closer to himself, saving us from despair on both ends.
Mary speaks of the descendants of Abraham to bring this story to life. God brought the enslaved into freedom. He separated the idolaters from their false gods. He brought the wanderers to their home, and then allowed that home to be taken when they turned from His law. And most importantly, when He saw the oppression of sin, God sent His son to establish a new covenant of salvation that would change the world forever.
Rather than fear which side of this seemingly ever-swaying pendulum we are on, we can instead trust that God will always pull us closer to Him. Any losses or gains that come from this pale in comparison to the ultimate gift of Jesus, the one who sets all injustices and losses to right.
Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that you make yourself known. Whatever our story, and whatever our struggle, we pray that our feet are led back only to you. In your precious name we pray, Amen.
Carter Bowman is Digital Media Specialist at Liberty Lutheran. He attends Covenant Church in Doylestown, PA.
No comments:
Post a Comment