Growth Through Others

Last week I was involved in two discussions that ultimately came together to form the foundation for what I feel like God is putting on my heart to discuss today.  The first discussion is an extension of a blog I wrote a few weeks back.  The second referenced Isaiah 54 and how to apply prophetic scriptures of this nature to our lives.  Later that day I saw that Isaiah 54 was the haftarah portion for last week.  This sealed the deal and I knew that this is what I would be writing on. 

The overarching message I feel God is calling me to share is again one on unity and getting along with others who may not see things exactly in the same way we do.  A few weeks back I shared how some people are strong in comprehending the giving and receiving of love in particular ways.  As such, they are more prone to extend and receive love in those ways.  At the same time, they may be weak in comprehending the giving and receiving of love in other ways.  As such, they are less likely to extend or receive love in those ways.  What I shared, is that it is very easy for us to judge people as “unloving” if they do not extend and receive love in the same ways we do.  This is simply not true.  Our responsibility is to understand the other person and recognize who they are and see and comprehend in what ways they give and receive love.  This accomplishes two things.  First of all, it allows us to embrace another person for who they are while allowing them to remain who they are and not pressuring them to become just like us.  Secondly, this gives us the opportunity to grow as we learn and comprehend new ways to give and receive love that we may have not understood before.  In doing these two things we become more spiritually whole people capable of giving and receiving love in more ways while holding onto our own sense of identity. 

This week I want to take that same principle and apply it in a much broader sense.  Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who was going into incredible depth about something that you just were not interested in?  Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who just didn’t seem to care about details that you find incredibly relevant?  More than likely, most of us can answer yes to both of these questions.  The reason is that there are things that each of us are really passionate about.  On the other hand, we all have lots of things that we are simply not that interested in.  At the same time, some of us just naturally have a tendency to want to research things and “go deep” while others do better in life seeing what is on the surface. 

The challenge is again to allow other people to be who they are and not “judge” them based on our own personal approach to life based on what we think is and is not important.  One person may have a great desire to talk about guns.  On the other hand, someone else might not.  The tendency for the one who does not is to judge the one who does for being fanatical.  This judgement blinds the second person of their ability to see and understand why the other person may be so passionate.  The reality is, there are many reasons that someone may be fanatical about guns.  Maybe, they are concerned with home safety.  Maybe they feel a strong responsibility for being prepared to protect the lives of others.  Maybe they experienced some things that led them into a pattern of fear.  The point is, in our judgement of them based on a superficial assessment we miss the opportunity to get to know the other person AND create the opportunity for what they see as important to become something that we can agree is important too.  Maybe that person who wasn’t so passionate about guns might become a bit more passionate if they asked a few questions and truly tried understanding the person who they previously judged. 

The concept of this acceptance leads us straight into the Word of God.  God’s Word is filled with opportunities for people to become fanatical about its various aspects.  Some people are fanatical about creation and exactly how old the earth is.  Some people are fanatical about prophecy and how end time events will ultimately unfold.  Others are fanatical about God’s involvement in pain and suffering while others may tend to be fanatical about the power of healing.  Some people read scripture from the context of how it applies to our lives today.  Some people read scripture strictly to gain a historical context.  Others may read scripture to understand patterns of God’s interaction with mankind while others may focus more on learning about what He says about His character and what drives Him to interact in the ways that He does. 

Herein is where Isaiah 54 comes into play.  Isaiah 54 can be read and understood from many different angles and as such be important to people for a variety of reasons.  I will not attempt to share all of the ways in which this scripture may be seen as important for all people, but will share what my limited view provides.  For me, Isaiah 54 is important because it is, what I believe to be, a prophetic summary of a discussion that God will have between Himself and the Jewish people at some point in the future.  There are many reasons that I believe all believers should open their hearts to being passionate about this concept.  Notice, I did not say that I believe that all believers should open their hearts to agree with me about the context of Isaiah 54.  I simply expressed a belief that all believers would benefit from being passionate about the concept that this scripture is about a future discussion. 

Let’s just take a moment and do a quick gut check.  Do you agree with me?  Why or why not? 

Now, let’s take another approach.  Isaiah 54 is a beautiful section of scripture that every believer can lean on.  The entire chapter is all about hope, redemption, and a knowing that God will never leave us or forsake us.  Isn’t this what this is all about?  Who cares what discussions might take place in the future, life is hard, sometimes I feel like God has abandoned me, and in those moments, this scripture gives me hope?  Isn’t this what the bible is all about? 

OK, how are you feeling now?  Do you agree with this last paragraph?  Why or why not? 

The point is, just like understanding how others give and receive love makes us more spiritually whole, so does understanding why others are so passionate about what motivates them to research, study, and discuss the things they invest their time and energy into. 

There is no doubt that in the day to day life of most people, I would probably agree that the second summary of how to approach Isaiah 54 is gong to be of greater value.  However, let’s take a minute and go a bit deeper and present an opportunity for growth. 

I am going to take a minute to layout a foundation of how I see several chapters of Isaiah.  I will also share why I believe all believers would benefit by opening their hearts to the concept that these prophecies may be unfulfilled discussions between God and the Jewish people.  In doing so, I am in no way minimizing what I said in the last paragraph.  In actuality, I believe that going the full mile will not only provide a greater understanding of the scripture, but will even provide the opportunity to expand the hope spoken of in the second view.

From how I see it, Isaiah 53 to the end of Isaiah are prophecies that have yet to be fulfilled.  Don’t get me wrong, Isaiah 53 definitely talks about Jesus and His crucifixion.  However, I do not see the main prophecy of Isaiah 53 as being about the crucifixion but more so, I see it as a future discussion between God and the Jewish people when we (as a people) are coming to see Jesus for who He was (as a man).  You will notice that the writing style of all of these chapters of Isaiah are in the form of discussion between God and a people.  Isaiah 53 is written in a past tense form.  In other words, it is a discussion between two parties about something that happened in the past.  This is why I see this scripture this way.  From there, Isaiah 54 through the next several chapters are all written in future tense.  As such, I see this section of Isaiah as a set of discussions that will take place during the next transition between dispensations.  If I am correct, this discussion is between God and the Jewish people and will take place right before He returns to set up the millennial kingdom.  This would put the fulfillment of this prophecy at the end of the dispersion which is also the end of the “Time of the Gentiles” which is the dispensation that we are currently in. 

Isaiah 54 has particular imagery and language (Isaiah 54:8 “I hid My face from you”) that references back to the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32.  Not only does this chapter provide imagery and language, but the promises that are being made are the very promises that have yet to be fulfilled and according to all prophecy will only be fulfilled at the end of the dispersion and during the messianic kingdom.  These sections of the Song of Moses are the same references that Jesus, Paul, Peter and the other New Testament authors referenced in giving us a prophetic timeline as to where we are in God’s plan of salvation through the Jewish people. 

So, why is this important beyond just proving that I am right and anyone who disagrees is wrong? 

First of all, knowing that God still has these promises in store proves what we believe to be true really is true.  It is easy to read that God will never forsake us.  However, we can’t forget that He is talking to Israel.  Up until 60 years ago there was no proof that He hasn’t really given up on us.  Afterall, it has been over 2,000 years since we were sent into exile and dispersed across the face of the earth. We have been the most persecuted people ever to exist and antisemitism is again on the rise.  This time period of his “hiding His face” from us still continues to this day.  What proof do we have that He won’t forsake gentile believers if He hasn’t proven to not forsake Israel?  The proof comes in the prophecy.  From how I see it, Jesus, Paul, and Peter along with all the other New Testament authors and the Old Testament prophets all provided prophecy that date stamps us to right where we are today.  It is in the prophecy that has come to pass that we can rest assured that what is still to come will come and that ultimately Israel will be redeemed.  In other words, our hope rests in the belief that the redemption of the Jewish people will come because so far everything that God said would come about has come about.  This leads us to conclude that if He is true to His Word with the Jewish people, then gentile believers can rest assured that He will be true to His Word concerning their future too.  Understanding that these verses are speaking of a redemption still due provides that hope. 

if I am correct in how I am viewing these scriptures, Isaiah 56 moves into an aspect of the discussion that is applicable to every believer who is not from the bloodline of Abraham.  In Isaiah 56:6-8 NASB we read ““Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, everyone who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”  The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, “Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.” 

Understanding that there are promises and conditions set aside for the gentile believers who want to be a part of Jesus’ 1,000 year rule here on earth is a critical concept to consider.  This scripture again points to the gathering of the dispersed but promises that the gathering will include those not of the blood line of Abraham.  In this, gentile believers can find promise that they too will be part of the kingdom while also coming into an understanding of what conditions God will be looking at when culling through those who will and will not be a part of that dispensation.  This provides the opportunity for hope alongside belief that leads to prayerful decisions as to how to go about our relationship with Him.  All of these could prove to be very important if what He says really is true.  It is scriptures like these that help us make the right decisions today so that we will be properly prepared for what will come tomorrow.

At the end of the day, the point is not about who is right and who is wrong.  The point is that we need to be open to not only what other people are passionate about, but probably even more importantly, why.  It is in the asking of why something is important to someone that we can truly see who they are, what drives them, and where their greatest strengths may be.  In this, we can grow as we start seeing the world through the eyes of others and in the process, become more complete. 

I pray that this has been a blessing to all of us and that in and through what has been shared we have all been challenged to be more loving, more accepting, and more thought full in posing the right questions when we just don’t understand where someone else is coming from.