All we like sheep… (Isaiah 49-53)

I could just hear the soundtrack of Handel's Messiah going on in my head as I read through these chapters.  More foreshadowing of Christ is pretty fascinating when one considers how many years this was written before He even came to earth.  Specifically, I appreciate the reminder that we have all gone astray.  Sometimes it's easy within a Christian community to begin thinking a little too highly of oneself.  Verses such as this remind me, "No, you've gone astray, too, and if it wasn't for Christ taking your sins, then you would be hopeless just like everyone else."  My struggles tend to be more internal than external, so most people can't see them on a regular basis.  That doesn't mean, however, that they don't exist.  Just because I'm not a drunk or a swindler doesn't mean that I don't ever sin.  Isaiah's words are clear: each one of us has gone his own way, and we each need the saving grace of our Lord Jesus who died for our sins.