The Real Meaning of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/isaiah/4.htm

Before I get started, I listened to a sermon last night that was very eye opening. Some of what this pastor said is still digesting and I have to think about it, but one thing that he said made me rethink my opinions on God.

I have always professed that we are here to serve God. We are here to have a productive life on earth, to love one another, and to be a disciple to spread His word to others. But what this pastor said was just the opposite. God is here to serve us.

Just like our earthly fathers whose job it is to serve their children, to love them, to care for them, to provide for them, and to raise them into responsible adults, God has the same responsibility. His job is to love us, care for us, provide for us, and to raise us so we become responsible Christians. And Jesus demonstrated this when He humbled Himself, and washed the feet of the disciples.

I’ve blamed a lot of people’s problems, like Saul, because he didn’t pray and ask for God’s guidance, how he took matters into his own hands. But that wasn’t because Saul failed to serve God, it’s because he failed to fully love God. And that was the second thing that impressed me.

Love cannot be a one-way street. We cannot love a spouse that doesn’t love us, it has to be a two-way relationship for it to work. And that is what God wants most from us. God is love, and He loves us to an extent that we can’t begin to imagine. And all He wants is our love in return.

And finally the pastor said what I’ve been saying all along, that God is not a wrathful angry being that should be feared. He should be awed and respected, much in the same manner you would be in awe of and respect another family member. Fear and love cannot exist in the same relationship; you can’t fear someone and love them at the same time. God doesn’t want us to fear Him, He wants us to love Him. Maybe once I digest my thoughts on all he said, I’ll share the video with you And thanks to my friend for sharing it with me; she knows who she is.

Now on to Isaiah Chapter 4.

Short, but sweet. Again, I’m not smart enough to decipher the symbolism or I’ve overlooked the real meaning, but the most important message is that the bad will go away and the good will come. At first impression, I perceive this to be about the return from captivity in Babylon (yet to come), but then I wonder if it isn’t prophetical about the day when Jesus takes the righteous to Heaven. I don’t know, but I do know that better days are coming, bot for Israel and for us.

Then in Chapter 5, notice the many words that are capitalized (or at least in my version), indicating they are Holy, and refer to God.

“My Well-beloved has a vineyard [a]On a very fruitful hill. 2He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also [b]made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.”

God created the earth and it was perfect. The soil was fertile, the landscape lush, no need for flooding rains because the vegetation was watered by a mist that came up from the ground, and then He created Man. He created Man in His own Image. And since God is perfect, sin free, flawless, full of love, He made man in the same way. (Many think of image as physical appearance only, but while we had the attributes of God, we didn’t have His power, that is what the lie was about). And that is how He intended for the world to be.

But instead, Satan introduced sin into the world, and it infected everyone, from birth. And now man is imperfect, full of flaws, full of hate and selfishness.

“3“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it?”

Even though we lost our lives from the moment of that bite from the forbidden fruit, God still tries to save us from eternal death. He created a Holy Land for his special “crop” of people. He gave them His word and rules to live by both verbally and in righting. You’ve heard the phrase, “Is it written in stone?”, yes, the rules of life were written on stone. And still we fail.

God sends His prophets to warn us of the consequences of our actions, and we do not heed them. In fact, that is likely what this verse is about, as soon the children of Israel will not heed the warnings about Babylon and they will be taken captive, their world destroyed. And while Isaiah is trying to get them back on track with the meaning of life (sorry, had to throw that plug in there), he is also warning them of their impending captivity.

Have a blessed day!