Daily Devotion - Tuesday, April 21

Six Years Later

“They will build houses and dwell in them,
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”
--From the Prophecies of Isaiah

NOTE: I am sending this devotion today because it was written SIX years ago. We need to be reminded of how slow progress really is; how long it takes to follow through on headlines!

The headlines this morning said that the war is winding down and it would be easy to think that this will mean that the troops will soon be back home. As the war winds down, the vast work of mending begins. Many will not be able to return quickly because a war torn area needs to create a new direction. Many others will have to pack their bags here and go to Iraq to help in the building of houses and the planting of vineyards.

Lester Brown in his book Building A Sustainable Society writes, “We have not inherited the earth from our fathers, we are borrowing it from our children.” This is a statement that deserves some attention as we continue to do our part as responsible partners with a fractured world. I personally would say, “We have inherited the earth AND we are also borrowing the earth from our children.”

I've been privileged to travel among the small towns of developing nations. In our lives we have opportunities to grow in our awareness about how much work needs to be done to help move this world toward health and peace. Let’s all work to “wind up their energies” as the war winds down.

Prayer: God of the new heavens and new earth, empower me to do my part in mending a fractured world. Amen.

--Ben Keckler
04.21.09