The Perfect House Guest

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,” – Luke 1: 68

A cheerful visit from a good friend is a wonderful thing.  We all feel complemented when we invite a house guest over, and they oblige.  It brings a certain closeness to have someone grace your home.  However, the visitation is always (or at least should be) proceed by an invitation, and not every house guest is perfect.  Sometimes, not every house guest is welcome.  However, that cheerful visit with a good friend, is indeed a blessing.   

The prophets instructed the people that there would be a coming of the Messiah.  For hundreds of years the people waited for the coming.  Waited in prayer, in worship and in dedication.  Waiting for the salvation of Israel, waiting for the coming of the king.  Here at the birth of Christ, when Zacharias tongue was loosed after he obeyed God, he was filled with the Holy Ghost.  He spoke by the Spirit, a truth that generations had been waiting to hear, though many would reject.  This truth was that the wait was over.  The Messiah had come, and this Messiah was Jesus Christ.  God had visited and redeemed his people.  The truth of this statement has echoed through the ages and will continue too.  Jesus has visited and redeemed his people.  He has brought liberty to the captive and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.  Everyone, everywhere, regardless of race, creed, color, social or economic stature can be redeemed.  They can be delivered form the power of darkness, set free from the bondage of sin, and brought back into fellowship with Almighty God.  This is all because Jesus visited and redeemed His people.  He brought full salvation to mankind.  We all are born with red in our ledger.  We have sin within that produces sin without.  This sin binds us and causes us to create bonds.  Bonds of: pride, covetousness, malice, hate, and envy.  Shackles of jealousy, care and worry.  Bonds of addiction, of substance abuse, of violence, of theft and lies.  The balance sheet is heavy with red, and we are in desperate need of a Savoir.  Not just a cancellation of the debt, but a liberation from the reason we were there in the first place.  We need complete and total redemption.  Only a visitation from Jesus Christ will bring that pass.  No one else can do what Jesus can do, only Jesus Christ can save your soul; through the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your heart.

Jesus is the perfect house guest, he will not come in uninvited, and he will not stay where he is not welcome.  He can and will forgive you of all your sin, if you confess.  He can and will send the Holy Ghost to sanctify your heart, if you sacrifice.  He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness, but we must be willing.  We must break with the world, flesh, ourselves, and the devil; break and invite the Savior in.  Invite him to visit our hearts and abide.  Then we can sing: ‘I’m redeemed by love divine.  Oh glory, glory, Christ is mine!”  We can say with the Zacharias he has visited and redeemed his people.