DAY 295

IT’S OUR RESPONSIBILITY, NOT JUST OUR RIGHT

Isaiah 62, 63 & 64 and 1 Timothy 1

The message of Isaiah has been building and building. Since chapter one we have had days where the text overflows with information, or metaphor, or prose. Today chapter 62 builds upon what we read in 61. Zion is being more than delivered. At times the language is concrete and it feels as if it is Jerusalem. At other times it is more global, “And they shall be called the Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord.” As followers of the Suffering Servant, the Man of Sorrows, Jesus of Nazareth, we are to bear these titles…not as a “right” but rather as a “responsibility”—I will say more on that in a moment.

First chapters 63 and 64 – the Lord’s Day of Vengeance—it burst on us. We should not be surprised; it is the other side of the coin for chapters 61-62 are really directing us to the ultimate coming of God’s Kingdom—and therefore God’s judgment. Yet one amazing thing to note is 63:7, “I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord.” Who is doing this recounting? Isaiah; Isaiah is interceding for the people.

Which brings me to 1^st Timothy; it is a straightforward letter exhorting Timothy. Paul tells Timothy that while he has accepted the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, he is to stay strong and be holy. This leads me back to “responsibility over right.”

In America we live in a democracy with all sorts of “guaranteed freedoms.” Those guarantees lead many to say “it is my right” – you fill in the “it.” The dilemma is if everyone demands their “rights” we end up with everyone living for themselves. As the “bearers of this message of the democratic freedoms” we might think our focus should be responsibility of bearing this message—that sort of an attitude would lead to all sorts of great behavior. My blog is not about being an American, but a Christian. We have amazing salvation and freedom in Christ—the Israelites had amazing identity and blessing as being the Chosen People. In Isaiah today we read The Holy People, the Redeemed of God. Imagine walking around with an attitude of thinking, “Yup, I am one of the Holy Redeemed People.” I cannot think it will go well. Consider a different attitude, “I need to live as the Holy Redeemed Person God has declared me to be, so that others will know God” — responsibility over right – it is the path Jesus showed us—what “rights” might he have declared! Let’s live the right way—let’s live responsibly for the Gospel.