A few days ago, Martin and I read Isaiah 63. It's one of several passages we've read this Advent season that describe God coming to redeem the Earth. They're not cosy pictures. Here God is described with robes splattered with blood, like the clothes of people treading grapes.
But, when I hear of what's been going on in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or think about women trafficked into sexual slavery, this is the God I long for.
Some people just have to be stopped. By far the best option is for them to repent and turn away from what they're doing. To them, God offers forgiveness and a new life. But not everyone chooses to accept that, and for those who won't, God is coming to destroy them.
Our Redeemer came at Christmas 2000 years ago. One day he will come again. And this second time, he'll come in power and will put the world to rights.
The Bible often speaks of the great and terrible day of the Lord. It will be a day of destruction, but it is the day that all the suffering people in the world long for, because it is the day when the power of their oppressors will be broken.
I find these truths uncomfortable. But when I reflect on "man's inhumanity to man", this day really is one that I long for.
Come, Lord Jesus.
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