The Source of Our Advantages


"'17 Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 1:19-20 (New King James Version)

Joshua Rothman grippingly describes interacting with someone in a virtual environment in this week's issue of the New Yorker magazine. "I was no more intimidated by him that I would be an image on the screen. Then he got closer, and closer still, invading my personal space. In real life, I'm tall, but I found myself craning my neck look at him. As he loomed over me, gazing into my eyes, I leaned away and held my breath. I could sense my heart racing, my chest tightening, and sweat breaking out on my temples. I felt physically threatened, as though my actual body were in danger."

Isaiah 1:19-20 offers that invasion of our personal space, that reset. God's definition of repentance in verse 17 insists on actions which protect rather than exploit the vulnerable, and this is the reckoning. Prosperity is from the Lord. The strength to plant is from the Lord. The vigor to harvest is from the Lord. The security to enjoy the paycheck once "harvested", reminds verse 19 with gracious ominousness, is from the Lord and subject to the removal of His protection. We are, as Rothman was, in the unfamiliar position of looking up at Someone bigger than ourselves. Our response is visceral, and confessional.

We cannot, we know, transition instantly from a life accustomed to indulgent advantage to one which honors God by honoring the less blessed made in His image. Every time we encounter a startling Isaiah 1:19-20 moment which reminds us we have no automatic claim on the blessings poured out on us, we can confess that what we enjoy, we enjoyed by the righteousness of Christ. Knowing the Father's goodness lavished on Him, we can also confess that we want to see opportunities to give our selfishness and coercion away.

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