Isaiah 45.22 22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of
the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” – God
In the very
next verse God says: "By myself I
have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not
return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear
allegiance.’" (V. 46) Here, God makes a statement that has been
rejected by man since the moment of man’s fall.
There are
different ways we can take God’s statement: we can accept it – that He is God
and there is no other, and because He is, we must accept Him as He is. Or, we can
reject it: no thanks, I’m not interested; and thus be like millions who attempt
to be a-religious (no affiliation at all). Or, we can call God a liar and not
only a liar but an arrogant liar: I have
sworn… Who is this God who pushes Himself upon us? Many simply want a less pushy god...
For sure, it’s
a big statement to say, “Turn to
me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no
other.” What are we supposed to do with that? Well, wisdom would have us
believe it; we, truly, have no real way (in view of our limited knowledge and
experience) to refute it – it’s right there, in black and white. Take or leave it.
So what do we do with an ancient saying in an ancient
book written by an ancient author proclaiming an ancient God? I think this is
really where we (as Henley sang) get down
to the heart of the matter. Forgiveness.
I must stand accountable for my life and all the things I've done and said. The same goes for every person on the planet. The point of
Isaiah’s writings was the people of God return to God and live the way He’d
prescribed so that they may be saved. Saved from what!? Saved, from an eternity
of existence without Him. To reject God (the only God as He claims) is to pull
the plug on the hereafter. The problem with pulling the plug on that is we
really don’t know what we’re losing.
God gave Himself to the ancient Jews and called them His
people and called Himself their God. But then He calls Himself the ONLY God and
says stuff like, “Turn to me and be
saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” His
call goes out not just to the Jews, but to everyone else. (And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like, I love
you.)
God does love
us. He loves all of us but He’s firm in His commitment that those who remain
unaffiliated will remain doomed. And those who reject His invitation and seek some other relief will come up empty-handed…and ultimately remain doomed. Doomed from the
consequences of One who said twenty-five centuries or so ago: “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the
earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
If there is no other, then I am a fool for not taking Him
at His word and accepting His offer…
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