From The Lectionary

This morning I read this from Isaiah 30:18

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

and this from 2 Corinthians 4:5-6

For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

and I loved both passages.

"The Lord waits to be gracious to us". Think of it. He waits. God waits for us to reach out and take hold of his grace.

"[W]e proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake."

"[S]laves for Jesus' sake." That's right. God waits to share his grace with us so that once we take hold of it, we are empowered to go out and be his servants to bring light to a dark world for the sake of his Son, Jesus Christ.