Good morning,
I am the Lord
As I have been reading through the major prophets lately I have been fascinated by all the times that the Lord ended his conversations with his prophets and his people by the statement, I am the Lord. What first caught my attention was all the times that the Lord spoke to the people that made up his nation who refused to listen to his
Word and to his prophets. When talking to his prophet Ezekiel he gave many warnings like, When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the LORD.’ (33:29)
It’s hard for us in this day and age to accept that the God of creation, the God who gave them life and called the family of Israel into being, would become so angry with them that he would promise to destroy them. Our modern picture of God is based on the long suffering, loving God who would bless his people because they were a part of his plan for our world. What we have to remember is what God told Isaiah when he said, This is what the LORD says– your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:"I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.(48:17) It’s easy for us to forget that when God made the world and filled it with life, they did so in order to develop a growing family of people who would be willing and able to develop relationships with them and one another that would last for eternity.
God the Father and God the Son, Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit have always had a perfect relationship with one another. What they wanted in a relationship with us was a willing and loving relationship that we would choose when faced with a choice. When Adam and Eve made the choice to listen to Satan, they set in motion the process that still continues today. The question we must face and live out now is based on the reality of our response to what God has done for us. Does the life and death and resurrection of Jesus seem like a piece of history or is it the source of our loving relationship with a loving Lord who is willing to forgive all of our sins and lead us through time and eternity. Are we actually willing to let the God we cannot see control our day by day lives that are swirling with confusion and hard choices, or do we do our best to stay in control and resent the One who isn’t giving us the outcomes we “deserve”? When we forget who is really in charge of time and eternity and insist on having things our way we will discover too late who in really the Lord of All. When we trust our God to save us, teach us and follow his direction willingly, soon we will be in eternity singing with the rest of our earthly family,"Praise the LORD! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him.”(Rev.19:6,7)
Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says– your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:"I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.
Roy Wisner
