“Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.” Isaiah 60:21-22 ESV
Reflection: why did God “call” you?
This thought of being “called” by God is a bit strange, but totally amazing, when you start thinking about it. That the Author, the Creator of the universe takes time to reveal Himself to us, very individually and in very personal ways, so that we can accept and know Truth, that we can get to know Him, and follow Him. Why would He do that? Why did He specifically “call” you and I? The easy answer that we often hear from the pulpit is because He loves us. And while that is clearly true, that He came to save us, to rescue us from darkness, an eternal separation from God, and bring us into His kingdom of light, it isn’t the whole answer. We each have a purpose in the kingdom that we have entered. Perhaps we should instead
think of God’s calling more like a “recruitment” for His kingdom?
Most know the wonderful feeling of being recruited and selected for some position, that someone put their trust in us to perform some task. But, that sounds a lot like a religion of works, you might say? I am not at all saying we can earn an iota towards our salvation. Christ atonement was perfect and complete, we can only come to the Father through faith in Jesus Christ and His work. But, once we are in Christ’s kingdom of light, then what? Do we just exist there for ourselves, with no purpose? Or were there additional reasons why God decided to “recruit” us? Today we read from the end of this beautiful chapter of Isaiah 60, describing the new Jerusalem. Really describing the true believers and followers of Christ, the church, as we looked at before. And, we get a sense that the timing for this is set way into the future, as we read the preceding verses.
“Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.” Isaiah 60:17-20 ESV. Reading Isaiah chapter 60 is very reminiscent of what we read from the end of Revelation, chapter 21, after a new heaven and a new earth have been established.
However, although we long for this day to come, when things will be set right, when the “people shall all be righteous” as Isaiah 60:21 starts out, we also read in the end of that same verse the reason for the righteous living “that I might be glorified.” We see here one of the purposes of God, bringing us into His kingdom, is to glorify Him. We have been made righteous through Christ; Jesus is our righteousness. So, by following Jesus and His commandments, we glorify God. Not just in the future, when all evil has been defeated. No, we can glorify Him now. But, there is even more to our recruitment into the kingdom of Christ.
“The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.” Isaiah 60:22 ESV. Did you see that? We are also called to have a “multiplying effect”, to expand the kingdom. We are not just to keep the gospel, the good news of Christ, to ourselves as the worker who dug down what his Master gave him to manage (see Matthew 20:14-30). We are called, or recruited, by God, to glorify Him by our lives, and to bring the word to others, to make disciples. To multiply the investment He has bestowed us. Before departing, “Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
So, we are all called, or recruited, by God for a purpose. 1) First and foremost, to save us, bringing us out of darkness into His kingdom of light. We cannot do much for God if we stumble around in darkness ourselves. 2) Secondly, to glorify Him with our lives, how we live according to His commandments. 3) And thirdly, to have a multiplying effect. That we share the gospel, the good news of Christ with others, making disciples. Just think, the Lord is counting on each of us!
