Readings for today: Isaiah 9-12
One of my spiritual disciplines is to stay up with the news. I make sure to read sources from across the political spectrum. I try my best to discern truth which is not always easy because humanity seems literally hardwired for conflict and hatred and even violence. It is so hard to land on an accepted set of facts that everyone can agree on. If facts are inconvenient or don’t support the narrative we want, we tend to dismiss them. If facts support our pre-determined position or ideology then we cling to them with all our might. One could argue that it doesn’t matter. People have a right to believe what they believe. However, in the real world, this attitude doesn’t fly because while I may have a right to my opinion, I don’t have a right to my own facts. Real decisions are made that have real world consequences and people are often hurt. For example, I was recently talking with an immigration official about the conflict that exists between immigration policy in our state and immigration policy at the federal level. That conflict puts state and federal officials at odds with one another and what ends up happening is the immigrant is caught in the crosshairs. That’s just one example among many I could cite. Taken to an extreme, this can lead to violence. The kind of violence I often see when I travel to other countries around the world.
Thankfully, God has a different vision for the world. One He casts in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Isaiah. “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together, and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle. An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water.” (Isaiah 11:6-9 CSB) When the Messiah comes in all His power and glory, the world will finally know reconciliation. The world will finally know peace. True shalom. The end of all division and violence and hatred and enmity.
How do we know this to be true? Because of what God did on the cross. There He tore down every dividing wall of hostility that exists between us and He gave us His Spirit to bring unity. The church is therefore called to live in such a way that we give the world a picture of what life will one day look like in the Kingdom of God. Imagine the power of the witness we could have if God’s people would embrace Isaiah’s vision? Imagine a church unified across political, ethnic, tribal, economic, generational, and theological divisions? Imagine a church that took seriously the commands from Psalm 133 and John 17? Imagine a church that chose God’s Truth over particular political, social, or even theological truth? It’s actually not all that hard to imagine if we take seriously the call to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus and seek to follow the example He lays down in Philippians 2:5-11.
Readings for tomorrow: Micah 1-4