Light from Heaven

September 28, 2023

And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace. Luke 1:76-79 NLT

Zechariah, the old priest, was way past the age to father children. His barren wife Elisabeth was aged past that point as well. An angel showed up one day and told him that finally he was going to have a child, and not just any child. This boy would become the forerunner of the Messiah. He would be in a special relationship with God, and God would use him to usher in God’s good news to the entire world.

Perhaps you remember—Zechariah was very dubious this could be true, so he asked for a sign. As a result, he was unable to speak until the child was born. When the baby uttered his first cries, Zechariah named him John in joyful obedience to the angel’s words. When the little boy was dedicated to the Lord at the temple, Zechariah broke out in song and blessing. His blessing and prophecy over his son are simultaneously the most tender and most powerful words we could hear. They signaled the forever change Jesus would bring for every soul that would ever take a breath. There would be true and lasting forgiveness from sins—not by keeping the law, not by regularly going to the Temple and sacrificing, not by behavioral modification, not through the way it had always been—but through God’s tender mercy. Morning light from heaven was about to mercifully break on all those who live in the land of darkness and death! They will be tenderly guided to peace.

We live past Zechariah and his incredible, God-anointed son John the Baptist. Morning HAS broken! The Light of the world has come! The shadow of death has been forever quenched by The Resurrection and the Life! We have access to the peace that passes understanding, peace that is beyond anything that the world can even comprehend.

No more the need to ever pray, “Lord, have mercy!” He has. He is here. His name is Jesus.

“Morning has broken! Sunlit from heaven! Praise, all creation, Praise this new day!” Jesus is here!

• Sing and let your heart rejoice and dance (yes, dance!) today! Mercy is here! Jesus is here! We live in the new day of love, not law.