Coming Home
This morning after a trip to Lamar’s Donuts, I attended a town hall meeting for our State Senator. Perhaps it was a good reminder of why I don’t miss certain aspects of political office.
After I returned home Debbie was in the basement attending to some duties we intended to get to when we first moved to Fort Collin…clearing out some old and unused books. Debbie laid the books out and I began going through “my pile.” Whil
e I took a nap she took them to Goodwill, before I had a chance to change my mind. So I now have 318 fewer books in my collection with probably twice that many more to go through.
Last night we attended an event for “Footprints Across Africa.” This is nonprofit that was started by Rhonda Allen wife of missionary Larry Allen that reaches out to women and children in some of the most impoverished countries in Africa providing education, food, and income producing projects. The Allen’s before becoming missionaries served as the Pastor of the Church in Strasburg where we spent seven years in the 1980’s.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…“Israel, remember this…I created you to be my servant, and I will never forget you. I have swept your sins away like a cloud. Come back to me; I am the one who saves you.” Isaiah 44:21–22
The words of the prophet Isaiah reveal the imploring heart of a God who is patient and merciful. The gravest sin of God’s people was in breaking the first commandment, “you shall have no other gods before me…” It is interesting when God is replaced with a priority to other gods, seen or unseen the rest of the “Ten Commandments” lose their impact and are easy to break. That is why Jesus said the greatest commandment is, “…love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength…” (Matthew 22:37)
In this chapter leading up to these verses above we see the Lord reminding His people of who He is and what He has done for them. He then leads to an amusing and embarrassing description of the mindlessness of idolatry. “The maker of idols hasn’t the wit or the sense to say, “Some of the wood I burned up. I baked some bread on the coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And the rest of the wood I made into an idol. Here I am bowing down to a block of wood!” (Isaiah 44:19)
A block of wood can’t rescue or provide for a person’s needs and neither can any other source of reliance other than the Lord. So the Lord instead of walking away and wiping His hands and giving up on such a “stupid” people, instead implores them to return to Him.
In doing so, He reminds them of their purpose. “I have created you to be my servant.” This is not a put down or a demeaning role, but a relationship that gives identity and purpose. A servant is cared for and provided for and protected by his master. As servant is one who simply does the masters bidding and in doing so helps bring recognition to the master. A servant is aware that “my life is not my own.”
The Lord reminds them of His watchful eye. “I will never forget you.” Distance impacts a relationship. God’s people separated themselves from Him, they “forgot their God” but His commitment was to never forget them. His eye was upon them even when they were in rebellion and running in the opposite direction.
The Lord reminds them of His love, mercy and forgiveness. “I have swept your sins away like a cloud.” This statement precedes the invitation to “come back.” God’s provision of forgiveness stands ready and is already provided. This reminds me of the words of Romans 5:8 “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.“
The Lord invites them to return. “Come back to me; I am the one who saves you.” Salvation does not come from a block of wood. Salvation does not come from ourselves, our our own efforts. Salvation is from the Lord. As we were going through some books, I ran across the testimony book of former rock star Brian “Head” Welch. The book is simply entitled, “Save Me From Myself.” Our only response is to simply come back to the Lord. Just like the prodigal that returned home to his father after leaving home, making all kinds of bad decisions and squandering his wealth.
The words of the old gospel song say, “Coming home, coming home, never more to roam. Open wide your arms of love. Lord I’m coming home.” When we come to the Lord, we find His arms of love already outstretched and waiting.