The Lord’s Invitation

In the book of Isaiah, the Lord offers an invitation to come to Him and the promise of what happens when we do. It is an exuberant invitation that I think is particularly pertinent to the Church in the UK at this time. I am struck by the warmth and intensity of the Lord's statements about His desire to bring goodness to our lives.

The Lord begins with offering gifts.

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1)

Everyone is invited to receive free blessings, symbolised by water, wine and milk. Not some people, not only the lucky people, but you for whom life has sometimes been difficult. The Lord knows we don't have the price, so He offers everyone gifts freely. Not only are these gifts freely given, but they are also the truths that set us free. He invites everyone to be fed, to replenish themselves.

But to be fed we have to incline our ear. That means moving toward the Lord, coming to Him by doing His will and changing our behaviours. He urges us to step up to the challenge of moving away from what is not helping us, so that we can receive His blessing.

"Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you." (Isaiah 55:2-3)

The Lord offers the promise of abundance, and then provides the conditions for receiving it. It is never fun to confront our selfish behaviours, but if we can do it, with the awareness of the peace, hope and joy it brings, that can change our perspective.

We'd like to think we know what works and does not, but the Lord reminds us that He sees so much we don't:

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says Jehovah. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Life throws us many unexpected challenges. The Lord, however, is never surprised. He is looking from a higher level and foresees all these bends in the road. He will guide us through it all if we let Him. We see the road in front of us, but from on high He sees both the road and the goal He is leading us to.

Because He sees all that is happening, His actions and His words have a power to accomplish anything.

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11)

I love the power with which His will rolls forth here. It will indeed conquer. Many of our efforts come to nothing, but that is not so with the Lord. He sends out His truth and it absolutely does accomplish what He intends. What He intends is not necessarily what we intend. He sees entirely differently than we humans do, but His will shall be accomplished. Notice how many times 'shall' is used. It will happen!

The Lord closes this chapter by promising us delight:

"For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to Jehovah for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:12-13)

In this image, the whole world is breaking into rejoicing. The Lord wants us to believe that this can happen for us and for our Church.

Daily life can feel hard and in many ways it is. The Lord's message to us here is that He is offering us an alternative, one that can be ours for free, to the degree that we devote ourselves to His way.

Rev. Erik Buss