Come Running

He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Isaiah 30:19

Bartimaeus said, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:47

REFLECTION:
It's instinct.
If you set your hand on a hot stove, you pull it away quickly, without thinking about it.
If someone around you yawns, you find it very difficult not to yawn yourself.
And if a baby is crying, the deep human instinct is to run to that baby and calm it.

These instincts come from somewhere; something deep within us.

I am particularly touched by the thought from the Scriptures above that one of the key sources of this instinct in us...is God.

Isaiah reminds his hearers that even though they have turned away from God (something that is a nearly constant theme in the prophets, and certainly in Isaiah)...even when they turn away, still at the sound of their cry, God comes running like a faithful and loving parent.

We see this on full display in the life of Christ himself, and the snippet above is only one small example. A blind man sits by the road and he cries out, "have mercy on me!"

You know how that story ends. Healing. Wholeness. Inclusion back into the community.

And if Christ is the clearest revelation of God's character, then we can celebrate today that we have a God...

who runs to the untouchables...and runs to us when we are untouchable.
who runs to the outsiders when they are in need...and to us when we feel like outsiders.
who runs to those others have written off...and to us when we have been written off.

So, the next time you hear a baby cry, maybe the tug you feel to help can be a subtle reminder of the faithfulness of God...and the next time you feel like crying out, trust that help is never far away.

PRAYER:
Dearest Father, thank you for your faithfulness to us through all generations, and for answering all of our prayers. May we be granted grateful hearts and lives so that we continue to confess you as Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.*

*Prayer taken from Moravian Daily Texts