When night falls

Our God is coming, but not in silence;
a raging fire is in front of him,
a furious storm around him.
He calls heaven and earth as witnesses,
to see him judge his people.
He says, ‘Gather my faithful people to me,
those who made a covenant with me by offering a sacrifice.’
The heavens proclaim that God is righteous,
that he himself is judge.  (verses 3-6)

Read Psalm 50: 1-6

When we were kids it was much safer than it is these days to play out late at the end of the day. Even so, my parents were keen to get their boys off the streets and off to bed once darkness fell over our neighbourhood. If we hadn’t heard Dad’s first call, he would come out in person to find us. Often we would be playing in the dark with other children from the neighbourhood. He would stand before the group and call us all by name. ‘Michael, Simon, Adam and James, time to come home, boys.’

One day God will come to call his people home – his faithful people. Arriving in the darkness like a burning light, he will call them by name. He will take them into heaven, where they will live and rest in safety – no longer in danger, no longer in the dark. For God has made us his own children by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, his only Son. God is our heavenly Father. He keeps us safe and will one day call us home.

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for making me your own child, one of your holy ones. Help me to be attentive to your voice until my final day. Amen.

by Simon Cooper, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

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