Isaiah 64:5-9
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. 8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.
In verses 5 thru 7 of this chapter Isaiah states our predicament, that "in our sins we have been a long time" (verse 5). As a result, God has "made us melt in the hand of our iniquities" (verse 7). Basically, he has let us experience the rotten fruit of our sin. So how do we regain God's favor? It is interesting to me that Isaiah doesn't argue that we won't sin anymore, that we are good now, so God should forgive us. Instead, he appeals to God's own love and relationship to us: "But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people" (verses 8-9). A relationship with God won't work if it is based on the flimsy hope that I'll never sin again. But if we base it on God's love for us, and if we keep the perspective of being God's children, then He will gladly be our loving Father.
Lord, thank you for being my loving Father.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. 8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.
In verses 5 thru 7 of this chapter Isaiah states our predicament, that "in our sins we have been a long time" (verse 5). As a result, God has "made us melt in the hand of our iniquities" (verse 7). Basically, he has let us experience the rotten fruit of our sin. So how do we regain God's favor? It is interesting to me that Isaiah doesn't argue that we won't sin anymore, that we are good now, so God should forgive us. Instead, he appeals to God's own love and relationship to us: "But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people" (verses 8-9). A relationship with God won't work if it is based on the flimsy hope that I'll never sin again. But if we base it on God's love for us, and if we keep the perspective of being God's children, then He will gladly be our loving Father.
Lord, thank you for being my loving Father.