BH Bulletin - Wednesday 28 July 2021

Thought for the Day by Rich Arnold
​(Youth and Families Minister Holy Cross Church)

Zechariah 1:1-6 
 
"In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:   2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. 5 Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? 
“Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’” 
 
It felt different this time.  Even those who had never really shown an interest in it before were sucked into the excitement.  The nation hoped.  Some even expected.  Sadly, it wasn’t to be.  Despite how much we sang the song, it didn’t ‘come home’! 
 
A wonderful thing about the Christian faith is that the certain hope (not wishful thinking like the football) for those trusting in Jesus is not that it’s coming home but that we’re coming home.  Our loving God is a God who promises we can be with him - come home to him.   We can sing: ‘We’re coming home.  We’re coming home.  We’re coming. We are coming home!” 
 
In Zechariah’s day, God’s people had finally returned home from exile after 70 years in Babylon.  (Maybe they were singing that song as they went?!)  However, life back in the land was not what they hoped it would be: they continued to live under the regime of the Persians; other nations opposed them; the rebuilding of the temple had stopped.  Everything was so discouraging, small and insignificant (see Zech 4:10).  But more than that, their hearts were still sinful.  They had given up with God- failing to love him and others.   
 
The prophet Zechariah comes along and says to the people, “Here’s the problem.  You’ve come home geographically, but not spiritually.  You haven’t come home to God.”  Zechariah 1:3 is the key message to the whole book:  Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. 
 
They needed to do a U turn.  They needed to repent, turning from their evil practices and starting to live with God at the centre of their lives.  Perhaps you need to do the same.  Perhaps you feel spiritually flat or apathetic.  Perhaps your heart is cold towards God and his people.  Perhaps you are living in unrepentant sin.  Perhaps it’s too hard to live for Jesus so you’ve decided to take the easier route of serving yourself, living for something more immediate, more tangible, more rewarding.  God says: “Return to me.”  Make the song, ‘We’re coming home’ the theme tune of your life as you practice regular repentance.  Perhaps you are living like that, enjoying the blessing of ‘returning to the Lord’.  Great!  Keep going! Despite how discouraging and small serving the Lord may sometimes feel, keep enjoying a life of regular repentance, resolving to live each day loving and serving him. 
 
And how good it is for us to return to the Lord!  Because the Lord is a good God!  He lovingly invites sinner to himself, longing to be with them.  Our loving Father loves it when his people turn back to him so that he can run to embrace them with grace and mercy.  He says “return to me. Come home.  I want you.  If only you’d have me”.   
 
And in Jesus – God with us (Matt 1:23) – we see the promise of God returning to his people ultimately fulfilled.  When we trust in him God says to us ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’  God goes to great lengths to fulfil this promise as his Son – in his life, death and resurrection – makes it possible for us to turn our hearts back to him so that he can be with us!  And wonderfully, Jesus will one day return, when this promise will be fully and finally realised, and God will live among his people.  God will make his home with us!  (Rev 21:3).   
 
We may not be able to sing ‘It’s coming home’, but we have a better song to sing.  In fact, it’s better even than singing ‘we’re coming home.’  Our great hope, and our theme tune for life is:  ‘He’s coming home.’  Why don't you sing that to yourself now?  ‘He’s coming home.  He’s coming home.  He’s coming.  God is coming home!” 
 
In the meantime, continue to enjoy the blessing of daily repentance, and his daily mercy and grace! 
Rich

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