Isaiah 55:6-8 - - - {The Message version}
Seek God while he’s here to be found,
pray to him while he’s close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.
8-11
“I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
God’s Decree.
Some of my loved ones are scoffers. They have heard the truth, and have either rejected it out-of-hand, or they are running, like Jonah ran from the call of God upon his life.
This passage says that God wants all men to seek Him, but that there will come a time when people will not be able to find Him. When does that happen? How does that occur in the life of a person?
I don't know. It is one of the paradoxes of the Bible.
In Genesis 6:3, shortly before destroying the world by the Great Flood, God warned, "My Spirit will not struggle with humans forever, for they are flesh and blood."
May scoffers reject the life of "walking by faith and not by sight" because of the complexity and the paradoxes of the Bible. The Bible does not contain errors, but it does contain differences in perspective which are mysterious. I've been reading about several of those in David Limbaugh's book, Jesus on Trial. Because scoffers cannot reconcile every iota of the Bible, they reject it completely. "It's not a rational book," they say. "Intelligent people would not believe that junk."
Well, in response, I offer the Scriptures. The Bible is a marvelous book, which has endured for thousands of years. It is the most historically accurate book in existence. Further, our God is a very rational God, although He does not choose to reveal all of Himself to us in a way that we would prefer.
In the King James Version of Isaiah 55:8, it is stated like this:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."
Those who want to make God over into human design are going to be endlessly confused and deceived. He is not a god made by human hands. What is God's prescribed path to a relationship with Him? You know that Jesus said He is the only way to God (John 14:6). But, the method God prescribes to know Him is through faith, faith in Jesus Christ's finished work on our behalf.
God's "way" is not a rationality that understands every minute detail. No. Faith. Consider Hebrews 11:6 - - -
"For without faith it is impossible to please Him."
Here is more of the verse, from The Message version - - -
"It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him."
Faith is anathema to the rational scoffers. They laugh it off in derision.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
Prov. 16:25 (NASB)
What frustrates me the most about my scoffer loved ones, though, is that they steadfastly refuse to investigate the rationality of the Bible and of God. I believe that, deep down, they are afraid of what they will find. What scares me the most is that they will run out of time before embracing or returning to the Truth. So, I pray.
Dear Reader, are you a scoffer today? Please, say "Yes!" to God, to Jesus, to earnestly seeking, to faith. You will never, ever be disappointed in Him. He is the very Source of Life!
Heavenly Father, I pray today for my loved ones who are running from You. Please don't give up on them. Please, give them more time. Open the eyes of their hearts, Lord, so that they can truly see You. I know that if they can truly see You, even a glimpse of You as you truly are, they will fall at Your feet in worship. I pray for the spiritual blinders to fall off their eyes, and for them to repent of their sinful, rebellious ways, for them to turn around and begin to follow Jesus as their Savior. Only then will they be able to walk....resplendent!
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