April 4, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me— the breath of life I have made.” (Isaiah 57.15b-16)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD TO US:

The God af all. From the highest to the lowest and to those who humble themselves before God, God is the God of all. It is His desire for the whole world to know that He is God having compassion on the believer, the non-believer and the unbeliever in this world. His mercy and grace is extended over all with the intent that all will come to believe. The day will come when some of those people will find themselves “far off” and beyond the redemptive reach which God extends. Woe be to those who refuse to dwell in the place of the Most High. And His place, as we have been told is not merely in Jerusalem, though God has chosen it to be the epicenter of the revelation of Himself in community. His presence is throughout creation. The revelation of God to Ezekiel and the exiles encamped along the River Chebar in the south of Babylon is proof to that point. The extent of the reach of the gospel of Jesus Christ in response to His Great Commission is another example. The heart of the gospel is the call to righteousness which is parametered by the great commands of “love God and love neighbor.” We know that Jesus further defined that great command to “love your neighbor” by teaching we are to love the enemy as well as one another. That pursuit of righteousness reminds the believer and the follower to maintain the right perspective of keeping God first in all things. This is the call we hear in the word given to Isaiah in verse 15b which is given to all those who are “contrite in their heart.” We see Jesus’ illustration of this in the teaching called “The Beatitudes” as part of the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5.3-12)

The “Beatitudes” shadow in part the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, as guidelines of the life of righteousness. The invitation of those who experience the “far off-ness” which sin inflicts upon all people to draw near and know the blessings of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven is key and critical. So important is an awareness of what God is offering and providing that it serves as a reminder even to the most faithful that they are still a work in progress. The validation of that comes in the parable of the Rich Young Ruler who seeks to know “how to become perfect.” That striving for perfection, or completeness, which drove the Rich Young Ruler to seek Jesus out is also what lead him away in disappointment. The traditional understanding of being righteous was bound (and still is today, it seems) in a “works righteousness” or some form of “prosperity gospel.” We hear this in the disciples response to seeing the young ruler walk away. The gospels tell us it was because “he was very rich.” What was the key for him to find that “perfection” or “completeness”? It was to actually surrender all he had, give it to the poor and follow Jesus all the days of his life. He was a “believer.” But, in his believing he had forgotten the element of authenticity for being a true believer which comes contrition. This is a lesson for us all from the richest to the poorest. And those who refuse to be contrite experience the truth of God’s presence in a harsh way. Their vision and understanding seeks to be conformed to the world and not to the kingdom. They see the harshness and hardness of God’s justice, mercy and love. They miss the compassion, tenderness and joy. They ask “why do good people suffer while bad people prosper.” The challenge of discipleship will always conflict with the world’s paradigm because the world’s paradigm is born in sin. It seeks to benefit self before God and all others. This becomes a benchmark for determining the “true believer.” It is a hard teacher.

It is not God’s intention to “break us.” He does desire that we come to a true understanding of trusting in the Lord in all things and at all times. This is the truth of a loving parent who imparts “justice” and feels the struggle themselves when doing so. God experienced even that with the death of His Son on the cross. The earth rumbled and roared. The sky darkened. The evidence of the destruction of the Temple curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the world and “expose” the truth of Immanuel, God with us, should actually comfort us and embolden our decision to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and know that He alone is our Savior. The struggle toward the perfection of grace will not last forever. It will reach a time and place where the joy of our salvation will be fully known as we ourselves are fully known. The “fully known-ness” of faith comes in our contrition and leaning fully on God and not merely our own understanding.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness which we know is folly but righteous works which declare Your glory and further witness the truth that can set all who believe free from death. So may we live by the name of Jesus our Christ. AMEN.