9/19/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Our Old Testament reading this week is from Isaiah 55:6-9. Here the prophet draws a sharp distinction. There are thoughts that God’s people have. Those are held in stark contrast to the thoughts of God. We have our human ways, God has his divine ways. They couldn’t be more different from each other.
When we read a passage like this we may easily feel offended. After all, we think we have some good ideas. We like our thoughts. Some of them seem pretty ingenious, very relevant, appropriate to the situations we’re in.
The question the Bible would ask us is whether we are seeing the world rightly. When we look at the world, according to Genesis chapter 3, we will see it through the lens of our sin. We may try, and try very hard. Sometimes we do pretty well. But we are still fallen creatures looking at a very complex and fallen world. Are we going to interpret it correctly? Sadly, we won’t. Yes, sometimes we do pretty well. But it isn’t really reliable.
The good news in our reading is that God doesn’t leave us to wander around in the dark, aimlessly bumping into furniture and falling down stairs. He calls us to come to him, to trust him, to receive his forgiveness. Then, and only then, will we realize that we can’t afford to depend on our own thoughts. Then we can turn to him and think his thoughts.
May we have the mind of Christ.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Our Old Testament reading this week is from Isaiah 55:6-9. Here the prophet draws a sharp distinction. There are thoughts that God’s people have. Those are held in stark contrast to the thoughts of God. We have our human ways, God has his divine ways. They couldn’t be more different from each other.
When we read a passage like this we may easily feel offended. After all, we think we have some good ideas. We like our thoughts. Some of them seem pretty ingenious, very relevant, appropriate to the situations we’re in.
The question the Bible would ask us is whether we are seeing the world rightly. When we look at the world, according to Genesis chapter 3, we will see it through the lens of our sin. We may try, and try very hard. Sometimes we do pretty well. But we are still fallen creatures looking at a very complex and fallen world. Are we going to interpret it correctly? Sadly, we won’t. Yes, sometimes we do pretty well. But it isn’t really reliable.
The good news in our reading is that God doesn’t leave us to wander around in the dark, aimlessly bumping into furniture and falling down stairs. He calls us to come to him, to trust him, to receive his forgiveness. Then, and only then, will we realize that we can’t afford to depend on our own thoughts. Then we can turn to him and think his thoughts.
May we have the mind of Christ.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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