“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)
Over the last few years we have seen an increase in violence, lawlessness, and incivility as well as the exaltation of selfishness and sexual immorality. Many find it impossible to forgive or show mercy to people who offend or “diss” them. Many thirst for vengeance and retribution often disguised as a demand for justice. Many, especially those who are in the public eye act as if they were all paragons of virtue and, so, qualified to act as arbiters of morality with the right to tell others what is right and wrong.
These all have forgotten that the Lord God Almighty rules and that He sees all that goes on. All human beings are accountable to Him whether they realize this or not. And if they truly want justice for all, they should realize that God’s justice applies to all within exception, to us, our loved ones, our governmental officials and all those gurus and celebrities we idolize. No one is without sin. Almighty God will always exact justice, no matter what we want or do.
The most wonderful thing we learn from the Word of God from Isaiah is that God’s delights to pardon and show mercy. God’s justice was satisfied, fully and completely, on the cross of Christ. This is why the Lord 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 hopelessly alienated from Him and in dire need of His grace.
The Holy Spirit leads each one to repentance. Without repentance, one may feel sorrow for sin, but cannot know what to do about it. To be saved from sin and it’s eternal consequences, repentance must lead to faith and a new life, a new worldview, a new attitude and value system rooted in God’s Word. 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.