«To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him». Daniel 9:9
IN 2011 one of my colleagues from the warehouse at IADPA, the publishing house where I work, asked me to go to the warehouse to check on some old books a church member had asked him to dispose of. I was not really expecting to find anything good, but I was astonished when I found the first edition of the complete works of G. K. Chesterton.
As I read Chesterton’s books, I was able to prove what Philip Yancey had said years before: «For all his [Chesterton’s] personal quirkiness, he managed to propound the Christian faith with as much wit, good humor, and sheer intellectual force as anyone in recent times.»*
The London Times asked a group of writers to prepare a series of essays in which they addressed the question: What is wrong with the world? Chesterton was one of the first to reply. He told them, «Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton.»» Then, in his book What Is Wrong with the World, the English writer further delved into the matter.
Long before Chesterton, the prophet Daniel declared, «We have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets.» And in the end he added, «O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies» (Daniel 9:5, 6, 18). Chaos is not anyone’s fault but our own. You and I are involved in it.
Daniel makes it clear that what belongs to you and me is wickedness and sin, that we are chaotic beings by nature. But just as we are what is wrong with the world, likewise God is the One who can fix us. Daniel said it this way: «O Lord, to us belongs shame of face , .. because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him» (verses 8, 9).
Since I am what is wrong with the world, then I need a God to have mercy on me. That mercy will bring order to the chaos I have caused.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Avineyda Hernández
