Friday, February 3, 2017

Isaiah 65:8-12

Isaiah 65:8-12
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  Reading Isaiah, this isn't the first time we come up to a promise of blessing and curse running into one another.  There is both, right here, with a contrasting future.  Those who seek the Lord will discover a future of rest, of satisfaction, of peace, while those who seek other gods (setting a table for Fortune and wine for Destiny refers to pagan rituals here) will find a destitute future.
  We tend to skim past these brooding sections, preferring the ones that promise light and hope.  But let us linger for a moment here, because it's important.  We who have chosen Christ often think these passages carry little weight for us, but they should be meaningful to us, because they should remind us that the light of Christ is something to be shared.  I'm not going to stand up and say that I know exactly who is fated for what future, but I do believe that salvation comes from Christ alone -- mostly because Jesus said so, and I tend to believe those who can predict their own death and resurrection.  Everything he promised has come true, and so I expect whatever other promises he has to come true as well.
  Because of this, I should feel an urge to share the Good News of Christ.  I shouldn't get so comfortable with my own salvation that I ignore those around me.  This message matters, and there is an urgency to it.  May we appreciate that, and may the Holy Spirit provide opportunities to share the Gospel with those we love, with our enemies through works of love, and with those we barely know, that every knee may bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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