Wednesday, December 10, 2003

Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
(Psalm 33.22 NRSV)
The forbidden always allures us. Think for a moment, though, about living in a truly decadent society. A society in which husbands and wives could not count on each other's love and faithfulness, where little children could not count on secure homes to nurture them, where people live only for pleasure and never accept responsibility for one another. My guess is that, all jokes aside, none of us would want to live in such a land. There is nothing that will starve joy out of people like a steady diet of moral decay. That is why each of us should think seriously about the kind of society we are contributing to. Isaiah could see the effects of sin on his people. He saw the unhappiness, the many tragedies such waywardness inevitably brings.

Even worse, there seemed to be no way to turn back the tide. Isaiah watched with helplessness the deterioration all around him. Out of his frustration he accuses God of turning His back. In verse 17 of chapter 63 he even accuses God of leading the people into sin and hardening their hearts against repentance.

Any of us who have ever tried to shake off unwanted behavior in ourselves or in someone we love know Isaiah's frustration. It's hard. For some people it seems to be well-nigh impossible.

Jesus, however, comes to us in this season to remind us that hope is available. A hope that comes in a savior sent by God who loves us all very much.

Dear God, may I see the possible in your son. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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