Doug Van Pelt

God is Different

Isaiah 32 finds a declaration of God's righteous reign, this is good for some and not so good for others.

"Each man will be like a shelter fromt he wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

"Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
The mind of the rash will know and understand,
and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear..."

But for those that practice unrighteousness (see the difference a word like "practice" can make? All of us sin and are therefore unrighteousness, but not all of us practice sin and willfully stay in an unrighteous state -- we confess and repent and move on, which is surely God's plan and expectation for us)...these don't have it so good when His kingdom reigns. Isaiah makes a prophecy that, "in little more than a year, you who feel secure will tremble..." God was going to bring some judgment on that land, and the people would mourn. Things would be bad until,

"the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.
Justice will dwell in the desert
and righteousness live in the fertile field.
The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever."

God is different than the world (mild understatement), and His ways are above (and superior to) the ways of the world. That really leaves no room for arrogance, but instead a grateful heart. When you are forgiven, you don't usually brag about it. "Hey, my friend forgave me for stealing his iPod! Isn't that great?" We don't say stuff like that, because it also broadcasts our sin. In the same way, we who have been forgiven and made heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven shouldn't lord it over those who don't believe. We should be grateful and serve those around us. Love wins. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at July 19, 2005 08:44 AM