A Light To the Nations

Albert Bogle January 20, 2026 3 0

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Isaiah 49: 1-7 (NIVUK)

1 Listen to me, you islands;
    hear this, you distant nations:
before I was born the Lord called me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
    and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’
4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand,
    and my reward is with my God.’

5 And now the Lord says –
    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength –
6 he says:
‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’

7 This is what the Lord says –
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel –
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
‘Kings will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’

This is an amazing passage of scripture. Here Isaiah shares with us his innermost reason for being a prophet. He speaks of the significance of having a calling. There is a strange confidence that only those who feel they have been called by God have, when it comes to putting into practice the gifts of God for the people of God. Here in this passage Isaiah inspires God’s people to see that they have a global purpose, to be the light for the world amidst all the darkness within humanity.  What an amazing commission. This now is the calling of the Church. We have inherited this role. We are being called to go from the table into the world and share the love of God to all the nations, to bring back the lost and restore the wayward, and to experience the favour of the Lord.

Although we live in a world thousands of years after this vision, there are still those who think globally and internationally — let’s not forget this outlook has been shaped by biblical principles — this insight that we live on a shared planet with lives bound up in one another — where restoration always has to be a shared project — is itself a gift from God and can be found on the Gift Table.

Prayer:

Lord

If you knew Isaiah before he was born

Did you know me too?

If you spoke into Isaiah’s ear

Giving him a commission — a purpose

Speak into my ear

I’m ready to listen

I too need a purpose, a bigger project

So many opportunities 

Gifts waiting to be handled

Gifts waiting to be shared

Gifts waiting to be matched up with a calling

Lord 

If you call me I’ll go 

I’m ready to leave fear behind

The gifts on the table are quite incredible

Give me the courage to 

Grow up into my calling

Whatever that might be

Whatever it is — wherever it is

I’m waiting, hands at the ready, to receive