God's Word: Please take a few moments and read Isaiah, Chapter 52. What do you do when you hear a truth you don't want to hear? Something to think about: Why is it that when a prophet speaks out, we don't usually listen? Is it because we don't believe them? I don't think so. I think we DO believe them – we just don't want to do anything about it.
Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's the environmental movement began warning us about potentially serious repercussions if we didn't change the way we treated planet Earth. They warned us if we continued to create Greenhouse Gases at the rate we were, it would negatively affect the weather. They began talking about "Global Warming." They chained themselves to heavy equipment and picketed outside particularly egregious violators of various reasonable clean air and clean water proposals – they weren't laws then. They tried to protect the old growth forests and they protested blowing the tops of mountains off to pillage the coal (itself a huge contributor to greenhouse gases and acid rain). They said we'd pay a heavy price if we did.
Now, their prophetic words to us were a combination of good science and passion – especially passion for the planet. Our reaction? We branded them crazy and refused to change anything. The truth is, we believed them, but we were making so much money, we didn't care what "might" happen "someday." We laughed at them, we arrested them and we made them buffoons and clowns in the media. Not because we didn't believe them. We made them out to be fools so we could ignore them – we made them out to be the bad guys and they paid the price. Someone always pays the price.
No one is laughing now.
This was the same thing humanity did, WE did, to the Messiah. Even though ancient Israel saw what was happening around them and they heard His voice warning them of what was to come, they wouldn't change and not because they didn't believe what He said. They just didn't want to change – and Jesus, the Messiah (according to Christians) paid the price – for us. Verse 14 is pretty sobering. He told us what we needed to do to get back to God; we beat Him beyond human recognition.
Ironic isn't it? We usually recognize the truth when we hear it. But when someone warns us to quit doing something harmful to ourselves or others, we beat them up for it. I wonder how we could change that? Is it simple personal accountability? Could it be that simple? I wonder... |
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