Sunday Sermon

 

The State of Man

Isaiah 59:10

We are like the blind feeling our way along a wall. We feel our way as if we had no eyes. In the brightness of day we trip as if it were night. We are like dead men among the strong.

My five-year-old granddaughter has become horse crazy. For her birthday Debbie and I bought her horse toys and she loved it. Because of my hobby I have lots of horse models and this little one has discovered them. One day she and I went through every box of figures I own to look for any horses and we found dozens. She was so pleased to know I had all of these figures and now she comes down to play with my horse figures and she wants to build more and even paint some. I love that I get to spend time with her doing something we both enjoy but she does not know that I am also using this time with her to teach her. Of course we do math and we work on reading but I also speak to her about faith and what it means. It is important that she lean how to become a woman of quality which will shape her life far longer then her horse crazy phase will last. While working with my granddaughter, I began to understand something about how God works. We are told that God meets us where we are and works with us to move us to the faith and trust in God we need and that God wants us to have. This then does not surprise me that I am doing this same thing with my granddaughter. Our God does not demand that we come to Him but instead He comes to us at the place we are at and begins working in our lives. If we need proof of this all we have to do is look to Jesus. God becomes human and lives among us because we can not get to God. As we think about this simple idea it can really help us to understand God and then direct us to a deeper and more powerful faith. We have a God who gets involved because God knows how hard faith is which means God does everything He can to help us connect with Him. God is reaching out to us because we need God to do that and it just adds to the faith we have in God. There is more proof about God meeting us where we are in the fact that God hands out wisdom about how the universe works. God does not hide the basic moral laws and concepts we need to get through the world with. Here is the interesting thing, we already know most of what God has to say because we know what is fair and unfair which means we are looking to the truth of God. All of this tells us about a God who wants to be engaged in our lives. Faith in Jesus is all about a God who steps into our reality because we need God to do that and so a righteous God who always does what is right wants to be connected to us. I find such hope in knowing this and it tells me more about my God. The only question is not if God is willing to be part of our lives but are we willing to let God have a bigger part in our lives. Opening ourselves to God will never be a disappointment because that is not who God is or how God works.

There is a part in chapter eight of the book of Nehemiah that always grabs my attention. People are celebrating the wall around Jerusalem being completed so they gather together and part of the celebration is the reading of The Law. When people hear the Law and realize how outside of it they are they begin to cry and that should be the natural reaction when we find out how sinful we are. It is interesting that Nehemiah then steps in and tells them to stop crying because they are celebrating and it is to be a joyful time. Over and over when I come to this place I think how the purpose of God’s teaching is not to make us cry but to bring joy to us. Yes, we should be sad that we have not been what God calls us to be but we now have a chance to change that. I like how Jesus puts it in verse four of Matthew chapter five in the Beatitudes, “They are blessed who grieve, for God will comfort them.” The idea is that God’s teachings are there to help us become what God meant us to be and so we should find joy in it. God is not looking to harm us but to bring healing and wholeness into our lives. When God spoke to me years ago about being a rude person it was painful to know that I was not what I should be. Then God began to teach me how to change from a thoughtless person to being thoughtful and the more I practiced what God showed me the more joy that filled my life. Learning to listen to God and to then do as he teaches is not easy but nothing worth doing ever is. To get fit means we have to get up and being moving and that is going to cause us to sweat and be uncomfortable but it is worth the effort. It is that same with God’s teaching. Joy does not come from sitting around and being up set about our sin but it arises from living by what God’s teach us. Let us seek joy and the fullness thereof by being the people God calls us to be.

Every few decades utopian ideas spring up and they all offer the idea that humans can be made better. In the last few years a new round of these ideas have been made manifest spouting the same ideas. If we just changed a few things humans would be better or if we just taught the right ideas we would end all the evil in the world. One of the things that always seems to be a starting point is we have to get rid of religion specifically that means getting rid of the Jewish and Christian God. It seems that trusting in God gets in the way of perfecting man. The reality is not that God gets in the way but God sees things differently and that is what gets in the way. Our verse tells us a different way of thinking because God knows what is true. When you read scripture one of the things that you notice is that the same issue that people three thousand years ago dealt with is the same one we as humans are still struggling with. The verse talks about people who have rejected the wisdom of God and so are blind to the world and what is going on. God is making the point that without Him we don’t really know how the world works and we are blind to all the wonder and joy that God wants us to know. Instead of seeing the world as it is those who reject God wander in a world like they are blind. Let it be clear that God is making this point because He hates that we are blind and He wants to give people the joy that seeing things as God does gives us. Somehow people have come to believe that they are smarter then God and think that they have a better way but those ways always end up in the same place because without God we are a lost group of people. The good thing here is that God is telling us the truth so we can made a different choice. We do not have to live like blind people because God has offered for free the wisdom and knowledge we need to see things as they should be. God does not want us to be blind but wants us to find the joy that comes from seeing the world as it really is. The problem is that God makes it clear that we as humans are the problem. It is the evil in our hearts that causes so much pain and suffering in the world. This does not make us happy though because it puts the blame on us and there is no way to remove that guilt unless God does something and we don’t want to have to rely on God. This verse exposes the folly of ignoring the teaching that God gives and so instead of finding joy we stumbled about as blind people knowing nothing more then the wall we are touching. God hates this and wants us to know that He longs to give sight to us.

The central part of this verse tells us something really critical to know if we are to start to grasp the ideas and principles that God gives to explain the universe. It compares the brightness of day and the darkness of night. Even in the bright sunshine the people are blind because they reject God’s word and teachings. Think about that because it means that God’s teaching is the light we need to have to navigate the world. It also speaks to another idea that the most important things are moral laws and understanding the laws God gives is what gives us sight. The problem is that learning God’s moral laws are going to force us to face our sinfulness and most people want to avoid that at all cost. What troubles God is that God knows the joy and hope that flows from His truth and wisdom but people choose to reject God instead of seeking Him and the answers He gives. God gives us the material we need to know to live as people who see the world as it should be and who live as free people not blinded by sin. In chapter two of the book of Malachi God is describing how people got into the trouble they are in and ended up being blind to how the world really works and it is such a simple thing. In the chapter people turn their noses up in disgust at serving God. The things God teaches are not shiny and are hard and so no one wants to listen to God and they turn away from God for other things that sound better. The problem is all it does is leave them blind to the real problems of the world. Truth seems dull and boring until we see the peace, joy and hope that it creates so we need to engage in the teachings of God so we might learn to be the shiny people we want to be. God wants to fill our lives with joy but we have to learn to open our eyes to the truth that God gives us.

The blindness in this verse shows the state of humankind but it also tells us so much about God. Without God humans are lost and blind which should scare us as people. At the same time God is using this verse to tell us how blind we are so that we can choose a different course. God is offering the brightness of day to us and that idea is designed to bring joy and hope to us. We do not have a God who leaves us to die. Jesus tells us that God Himself will come and intervene because He loves us and wants us to know joy and peace not darkness and confusion. We need to tell the world that the answers they need are not in ourselves but in the God who brings healing to broken lives. God is at work even when we are blind and stupid and that is so exciting because we need that kind of God. The question is to us, do we seek the God who gives sight to the blind and live with joy or do we live lives just trying to know where the wall is? This verse points out that one is weak and the other is the strong way to live.