Sweet comfort

Sunday December 4th Isaiah 40: 1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. Comfort my people. This is the message of the Lord. When the angels came to the shepherds, there first words were fear not. When the angel came to Mary, the first words were, fear not. This message of Isaiah is do not live in fear, but know of God’s love for you, and find comfort in that. Often we hear the message of the Lord’s second coming as one of fear. Will you be ready? Two going up a hill and one’s left standing still, I wish we had all been ready. Will you be left behind? These are all messages of fear and control, not assurance and comfort. What will the second coming be like? I don’t know, no one does. The first coming was as the babe in Bethlehem and the words, fear not.