Isaiah 56:1-8

Isaiah 56:1-8
English Standard Version (ESV)

 If you have a child, you want them to succeed, partially for their own sake, and partially for the sake of bringing honor to your name.  You hope that when they interact with others, they will be polite and respectful and reflect well on their upbringing.  You hope that others will notice their good manners and think well of you.
  When you go out into the world, do you try and do everything in such a way that it will reflect well on God?  Here, the Lord is teaching us to live in such a way that communicates our faith.  Our daily choices shape our lives, and our lives can either honor God or not.  We can take a step closer to the Kingdom of God, or we can selfishly choose our own ways.  Every day, there are hundreds of small choices we make -- so often we make them mindlessly, getting absorbed in the task before us and forgetting our greater purpose.  God is reminding us here that we are to live with a mindfulness, to go out with mission and purpose and think about how we are going to build our lives towards the joyful noise we will make in the Kingdom of God.  Will you choose to honor God through your life, or will you lose yourself in something else, forgetting that today is an opportunity to point to God and his greater and eternal glory?