“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 51:11 ESV
Reflection: what is the big picture, of everything?
You have probably heard the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, which is one of the reasons I have always been fascinated by and interested in photography. To capture and freeze a moment, so that others can experience something just by looking at the picture you have taken. In photography, we use one type of lens to be able to capture details, something very close, and a very different type of lens for taking a wide picture, such as for a landscape. Some lenses allow us to “zoom” in or out, to capture more or less of what we see. Again, to focus in or out on what we are specifically interested in capturing, what we want the picture to communicate.
One of the things I enjoy most about photography is the need to be more present, more observant and awake, if you will, so that I can see what is happening around me. This is especially true if I am in a new, unfamiliar place. I have to constantly look at my surroundings, at nature, people, streets, buildings, situations, etc, what is going on in the big picture, while at the same time try not to miss and forget the details. In a way, it becomes a much more engaging experience and journey than just rushing to a destination. The whole journey becomes the experience.
In Isaiah 51 and 52, we read 3 times the following phrase “Awake, awake”. A bit strange, almost as if someone has been asleep and the alarm is going off. Let’s read the beginning of those verses, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;” Isaiah 51:9a ESV, “Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem,” Isaiah 51:17a ESV, “Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion;” Isaiah 52:1a ESV. What is going on here? Why the call to “awakening”; to the Lord and to God’s people? If we think history here, we certainly can see cycles of the church being more and less awake. We might even be reminded here of the multiple warnings directly from Jesus, such as even to the church of Sardis in Revelation ““And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.
If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” Revelation 3:1-5 ESV. It is unclear whether this is a general warning to the church, or in a timeline as some believe. Regardless, we see the reference to the Lord “coming against them”, which might be to test them, as He says their works are “not complete in the sight of God”. They have a reputation, a facade, of being alive. But on the inside, they are dead.
Christians across the world have just celebrated the atonement death, and the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. For many, this celebration is very traditional, going to church on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, hearing the same message preached, year after year. And we all know that, when things become routine, we might not be being very “present” in the moment, perhaps even thinking of other things. I would like for you to try for a moment to think like a photographer. Try to think back at these past few days, was there anything that stood out? Anything picture worthy for your “spiritual camera”, metaphorically speaking? Was there something that really captured you, spoke to your soul, that you tucked away as a spiritual image for your soul? If not, was it because you were “asleep”, so to speak?
In the focus verse today, we are given a vision, a view of the big picture. “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 51:11 ESV, and later “Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.” Isaiah 52:1 ESV. This view, we meet again throughout the Bible, all the way to the end, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:1-4, 27 ESV.
What glorious big picture the Lord has shared with us!
Sometimes we can get a bit lost in this life, in all what is happening around us every day, stealing our attention. We get busy just living, dealing with all the challenges of life and this world. But, perhaps we need to think more like a photographer. To always carry around our “spiritual cameras”, charged and ready to go. So that we don’t miss anything God is doing in our lives, on this journey we are on. Let’s look at and capture the details the Lord is doing today in our lives, as well as not miss the big picture.
