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Why Does God Demand So Much?
From Isaiah 58: 1 Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. 3 "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. 4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
Yesterday as we met for our district pastors' meeting, one of our pastors could not be with us as she was preparing for two funerals she has today. As I read her email I remembered that a dear friend of mine has had something like 16 funerals in one month. And I realized that unless we leave our comfort zones and walk our neighborhoods and invite people into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we will become a church that specializes only in burying people. Not that that's bad, we know death is a part of life and death is something for which we prepare people; but we should be a full-service church - baptisms, confirmation, marriages and other worship celebrations that glorify God and bless people. Yet, even if the pastor gets excited about moving past what makes/keeps us comfortable some people in the pews want to stay right there and be comfortable. I have had people say that as long as they're happy and the church is there to bury them, they need not do anything else or worry about anyone else.
This is basically what Isaiah is saying to the people on God's behalf: You're too comfortable and you're at the point of abusing people with your neglect. You should be leading the charge to help people. You're religious but not relational. You fast but only for your own needs. Some even fast to quarrel better and hit harder. Is that what God wants/expects from us?
God expects us, the people who make up His church, to work to remove all that is not Godly in our midst, such as children being hungry ("We give so many food stamps there is no hunger in our community!" WRONG), people being homeless ("It's their own choice! They messed up and ended up on the streets!"), people wearing the same clothes day after day because they have no other; kids going to school with torn shoes, no coats during this cold weather; people not wanting to be with their own relatives. If we begin to look beyond ourselves and guide our churches into the mission field, great blessings will return to God's church. We will be the light God called us to be both as individuals and as a church. All our present fears and challenges will be removed, and we will be the source of love and hope for those who now have neither. We will truly become a home for all people.
PRAYER: Living and Loving God, speak to my heart and the heart of those around me; bless us as we seek to bless You and Yours. Give us courage to "afflict the comfortable, and comfort the afflicted." This I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
