Part 2: The Inbreaking Into Brokenness
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A few moments ago while reading through Isaiah 11:
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
While finishing the last verse, “for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover…” Blam Blam… Blam, several shots were fired. The short concussive spouts echoed through our neighborhood. Yet in the next moment while the echo was still discernable… Ck-Ck-CRACKBOOOM! A roaring peel of thunder covered the valley of Siguatepeque. The sound of the shots was utterly consumed.
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It immediately seemed as if the reading of Isaiah had been sealed with the experience.
As if the echo of the shots were symbols of brokenness, the thunder spoke out with authority. Its rumbling filled the air; it penetrated every recess. As if the thunder was a symbol of “the knowledge of the LORD,” it filled the valley as “waters cover the sea.”
This Isaiah reading is a potent description/image of the Kingdom brought near in the incarnation of God. The Inbreaking of this Kingdom is the hope that sustains amidst the darkest brokenness. Jesus proclaimed, or rather demonstrated, how to live in his Kingdom. Yet not only did he come to demonstrate, he came to leave. Orlando recently said it like this:
When Jesus returned to Heaven the angels greeted him with a big hoopla.
After a little while Gabriel went over to Jesus and asked, “So what’s next?”
Jesus replied, “I left my 11 disciples in charge.”
Cringing slightly Gabriel asked, “Ooo, and plan B?”
“There is no plan B,” Jesus replied simply..
So what is a faithful and measured Christian response to brokenness?
The important first step: take up your cross, take up your Jesus-given responsibility, be the Inbreaking into brokenness.
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Switching gears, we want to wrap up by first letting you know school re-started this past week. There was enough of an agreement reached that the teachers started up their classes again. They are working to make up some of the lost time by not taking days off this week, which they normally would to celebrate the country’s independence day. They are also holding class on Saturdays and are getting the kids to come by having Saturdays be the days exams are given. This impressed us, God is good.
As the first half of the sports league came to an end last month, Kristy was given the opportunity to design and run a camp for all the participants in the league. Though the weekend was exhausting, as could be expected running a camp for a large group of adolescent boys, it was a great weekend for the kids. Along with games and a soccer training workshop from a professional coach, the boys experienced God through spending time with their coaches, working through Bible studies and listening to powerful testimonies. As the second half of the league now begins we are thankful to see how God is Inbreaking into the brokenness of society.
Click here to browse through the new photos to see pictures of the sports camp along with other recent activities including: the inauguration of the NEW location and fresh look of the Union Biblica bookstore.
