The Shining Church

This morning I am revisiting one of my favorite verses in Isaiah 60:1-5 NIV:

[1] "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
[2] See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
[3] Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
[4] “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip.
[5] Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.

I love these verses because I think they convey so clearly the Lord's heart and call for the Church, the Body of Christ. We are called to rise up and shine with the Glory of God. We are called to be a light to a darkened world. The only way to be a light, is to be full of light. Jesus called himself the light of the world (John 8:12) and we are called to walk in His Light, to be filled with Him. We aren't just supposed to have better programs, or more beautiful buildings, although those are fine. We are supposed to have Him, shining out so brightly that world sees and is drawn to this light. When those in the world see Jesus shining out of the Church, they will bring their sons and daughters, the real wealth and riches of the nations.

Lord, we pray that the Church will learn to shine, learn to be filled with You, with Your light, with Your life and with Your Love. Lord, we pray that Your Glory would rise over the Church and she would shine brighter and brighter in these dark days.