Have you ever serendipitously found yourself in a situation where you totally didn’t belong? A time when you knew that things had just fallen in your favor and one thing led to another . . . and before you knew it you were surrounded by a situation where you stuck out like an obvious blemish on an otherwise pristine situation?
I once found myself in an elevator with the governor of North Carolina at my college graduation. He was pleasant enough, but I was being closely watched by his security detail. I swear, the elevator looked like any other, albeit in a dark hallway where no one else was present when I pushed the button.
Isaiah 6 paints an interesting picture. Like much of the Old Testament prophetic writing, this is a vision that Isaiah has of God. There are a lot of images of bizarre looking angels and magnificence. All of this is a bit peculiar as we read, but there is a solid point Isaiah is making that applies to us.
God is Holy!
And in the presence of holiness, Isaiah becomes even more cognizant of his uncleanness.
Remember the behavior curve (Days 16-18)?
As we past the peak and start diving downward at the end of the curve, we have a similar realization to Isaiah. We are filthy!
Our sin makes us unclean and separates us from God.
Our sin gives us no right to appeal to God for mercy or hope or grace but rather subjects us to His wrath.
And THAT’S exactly what the enemy wants us to believe. THAT mentality will keep us away from God’s presence if we allow it. We convince ourselves that we’re not worthy, not clean, and have no standing with God. We try hard to do good & please Him . . . and maybe even do so for a while . . . but once we fail again, we are separated.
And we’re right.
But Isaiah 6:7 . . . take a look.
That’s Jesus!
Because of Him, our sin is atoned for. We can be clean not from our own merit but because of the sinless life Jesus lived and the punishment He took on our behalf.
And we KNOW this is true because of John 20:17.
After His resurrection Jesus refused to let Mary touch him because He had not yet ascended to the Father and had to do so without sin in order to be an appropriate substitute for the punishment we deserve.
Isn’t that INCREDIBLE!??!
Here’s the deal . . . we are unclean. We’re not worthy. God is Holy & we are not.
We fail to meet the standard often. Every time we look at a woman with lustful intent, we miss the mark & disrupt the peace God intended to have with us.
But Jesus restores that peace.
Know that today. Let that get infused in your spirit today. Tell someone about that today.
Thoughts to Journal/Pray:
- What does all this mean to you?
- How have you felt the gravity of your sin in the past?
- What does Jesus’s substitutionary atonement mean to you?
Reading: