Better people for the worst of times: Duration

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities).

“People are God’s method.  The church is looking for better methods.  God is looking for better people” (E.M. Bounds, The Power of Prayer).

Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant,until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste.But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

(Isaiah 6:11-13)

Part 7: How long is the assignment?

Once when I was a seminary student, we had a church pastor as our chapel speaker.  He made a comment that I will never forget.  Looking at us seriously, he said, “If you can do anything other than go into the ministry, do it!”  His meaning was clear.  If you are not convinced you’ve been called, do something else, because otherwise you won’t last.  The same thing might be said to us who say we want to follow Jesus.  If you can do anything else, do it, because it’s going to be hard.

Not only is the message Isaiah is told to deliver a hard one, the length of his assignment is sobering.  The Lord tells him it would last until the nation was completely destroyed and its people, almost to the last person, exiled into captivity.  There are some people who will resist the truth about themselves, their country, their rulers and their future to the last breath.  Commentator John Oswalt says, “The only hope of healing for these people is near total destruction. It is only when all hope is lost that a scrap of hope appears.  There is no other way.”

What is the glimmer of hope?  “The holy seed.”  A stump left after all the trees have been strip cut from the forest.  But that stump, like the terebinth or oak, is one that is most likely to grow again.  It will be a remnant of God’s holy people who have been chastened and purified by the ordeal they have experienced.  Humbled and open to the voice of God because they have been afflicted by God.

              Our assignment is to listen to Jesus and do what he says, to be and to proclaim the good news to those around us.  For how long?  Until the Lord takes us in death or until he returns (Matt. 24:14; Rev 2:10c). I believe Isaiah’s call from God shows us the way forward.

1.      Vision: We need to see Jesus high and lifted up, the one whose glory fills the whole earth.

2.      Contrition: We need to face our sin in the light of the Holy One whose seraphs remind us that we are a people of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips.

3.      Absolution: We need to re-aquaint ourselves with the thrill of being saved, restored by the joy of our salvation.  Confessing that “in Jesus Christ, we are set free.”

4.      Calling:  We need to hear then the voice of the Lord and respond to his call to join Jesus Christ in the work that he and his father are already doing in the world.

5.      Message: We need to stay on message.  The Gospel is about Jesus, and nothing else.  Let us be labeled as “Jesus people” who love like him, serve like him and talk about him.

6.      And stay in it for the duration – the long haul.  Staying with our assignments as long as the Lord wills or until he comes again.

Amen!