I think many of us may remember the Connect-the-Dots coloring books we had as children, where on each page was a series of numbered dots, and where if you took your pencil and made connecting lines between the dots in sequence, you soon had the outline of a picture to color.
On Sunday, we spent a few minutes connecting some “dots” in the Scriptures as we outlined a picture of that greatest of Bible themes: the presence of God. In our sermon text from Isaiah 51, the prophet took us back to the beginning to help us picture the comfort God planned for His people (Zion).
For the LORD comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the LORD;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song. Isaiah 51:3ESV
The joy of Eden was not merely lovely landscapes; it was the presence of the Living God.
Adam and Eve lost this, being cast out of Eden and exiled for disobedience from the presence of God. Isaiah had prophesied that Zion would also lose the presence of God. His temple in Jerusalem would even be destroyed, and God’s people would go into exile for their own disobedience. All would be lost to desolation and wilderness.
But the LORD does not forsake His people forever, even when they forsake Him. The prophet declares the wilderness will again be filled with joy and gladness. The LORD will comfort His people again by His holy presence.
Connecting the dots from Genesis through Isaiah to the New Testament reveals the beautiful picture of Christ, our Emmanuel–God with us. The promise of comfort that Isaiah pictured as a restoration of Eden finds its great fulfillment in the coming of the Comforter at Pentecost.
Consider how God came to rest on the seventh day after creation was completed to fellowship with Adam and Eve in Eden, His Garden Temple. Then consider the coming of the Holy Spirit of Christ to rest upon His Church at Pentecost to fellowship with them in them, His holy temple. This time coming to rest 49 (7×7—the perfection of seven!) days after the Resurrection, which was the beginning of New Creation!
It is rewarding to see God’s truth come to light in the Scriptures, but how does it all connect to us? As I mentioned on Sunday, the dot I find hardest to connect is the one that brings me into the picture. I believe the Scriptures which declare God is present with me, even in me by His Holy Spirit. I have preached and taught this truth for decades. So, why am I so often not comforted by God’s presence? Where is the joy and the gladness of Eden in my life? Why does life so often feel empty or like drudgery even if it doesn’t feel fully desolate? Why do you and I stay so often overwhelmed or overstressed? Isn’t Jesus with us, even as He promised?
It is true, we are still in the wilderness, and we look forward to entering one day into God’s presence in heaven. But doesn’t God’s presence make a difference in our lives in the here and now?
Connecting the dots in our children’s books provided us with an outline that still needed to be colored in. Putting our Faith into Practice is like coloring in the picture.
We believe the Lord is with us. So, let us put this belief into practice. How?
Each Sunday, we celebrate the presence of Christ in the Eucharist with (to quote Isaiah) “thanksgiving and the voice of song (the singing of a psalm).” But let us carry Sunday’s thanks and gladness into the week. Let us begin every day in the presence of the Lord—by entering His Word, before we enter the world (or our phones). And let us spend more time talking about what have learned from the Word than what we have learned from the world. Let us encourage one another in the Faith by reminding each other that Jesus Himself said we would have trouble in this world, but that He also said we should take heart for He has overcome the world! And may we not let each other forget that He has promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age.
Discover His joy and peace afresh!