Isaiah 24:1-13 - This is a pretty frightening text. God's awesome power is on display, as he "twists the surface" of the earth. All people, regardless of their positions will be affected. The sin of the world has brought about God's judgment. The saddest thing to me is the end of any kind of celebration or singing. We have all experienced great sadness because of health, loss, conflict. But even through those times we might find something to laugh about, or comfort in singing a song. The total absence of that in this text is heartbreaking. And this is why when Christ comes into the world he spends so much time talking about and engaging in celebrations. The reconciliation we have with God through Jesus is not a verbal fiction. It is real. It is fellowship. It means celebration. So much so, that the picture of the new creation is one of all God's people and the whole earth celebrating, singing to the Lamb who was slain. The silence of sin is ended.
1 John 1:1-2:14 - John talks about walking in the light. He points out that we cannot claim to be in the light while still hating our brother. Most of us would say, "I don't hate anybody." I certainly don't feel like there's anyone I hate. But are there people who I avoid because of conflict? Reconciliation is never an easy thing. Even when we know what it means in theory we have a hard time practicing it. We shouldn't expect it to be easy. After all, Jesus' reconciling of God and man was a painful and tragic experience. If there is someone who you are angry with, pray about how you can have reconciliation, not only from your perspective, but also in your words and deeds.
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