“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)
In the past few months we have been continuously reminded in violent fashion that we human beings find it impossible to forgive or show mercy to people who offend us or who we do not like. We want revenge, though we often couch our desire in a noble way as a demand for justice. This desire is precisely what is behind the civil unrest that is threatening to divide our nation. People act as if they were all paragons of virtue and, so, qualified to act as arbiters of the law with the ability to tell others what is right and wrong. Only the Lord God Almighty has that power. We must come to Him to learn it.
Yet if we were truly to want justice for all, we should realize that it would apply to us as well as not just those we despise and criticize. It also applies to our loved ones as well as those leaders and celebrities we idolize. No one is without sin. And God is a God who is just and He will always exact justice, no matter what we want or do.
The most wonderful thing we learn in this passage from Isaiah is that God’s justice was satisfied, fully and completely, on the cross of Christ. This is why He calls out to all to come to Him. He offers pardon, freely, without cost to anyone. This does not mean that every human being is saved. His grace is not cheap. The offer of free salvation is bestowed only on those who acknowledge that they are sinners in need God’s mercy. This is what repentance is all about: agreeing with God that we are sinners separated from Him and in dire need of His grace. Thus the attitude of repentance leads one to faith in Christ. Without it, one does not really know he/she needs to be saved or that he/she is a sinner. Those who do repent will not judge the sins of others but will extend mercy and grace, not anger or violence for they are guided by the Holy Spirit. Those who do not have the Holy Spirit do not feel His conviction for sin and so cannot have fellowship with the Lord. Those who request His help will, however, definitely find that He is there to lift them up.