Hope For All God's Children

Today's devotion comes from Michael Hoy's, "The Light of Grace: Devotions for Advent."

There is hope for your future, says the Lord: your children shall come back to their own country.

Jeremiah 31:17

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Author's Reflection

These words of hope are directed to Rachel, who weeps for her children - the chosen people - now being taken away into captivity in exile. They are seemingly rejected. But this expression of hope declares that the beloved will not be abandoned. In spite of their many transgressions that have brought about this time of loss, God promises that these children will be brought home. And the promise and its fulfillment would, indeed, come to pass!

When Herod the tyrant ordered the murderous deaths of the children of Bethlehem, Rachel would again weep for her children (Matthew 2:16-18). But these children, these holy innocents, are never forgotten. Nor is their suffering. Nor is the suffering of countless others who have been subjected to the tragedy of negligence, abandonment, violence, and death. Why? Because our Lord Jesus takes his place in their midst. Christ shares in our sufferings and takes away the power of sin, death, and every evil. The light of Christ's grace shines in our darkness. And his grace promises hope for a future we could not otherwise envision.

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Author's Prayer

Lord, our future as you children rests in you. In the midst of all sufferings and loss, keep us always in the tender mercies of your love. Amen