Tending the Soil

by Ben

I read Isaiah 56-60.

The messages found in Isaiah rang out clearly tonight. Each chapter seemed to go back and forth as times when Israel was obedient to God and times when Israel strayed from God. It truly is the story of all of God's children. Thousands of years later, we still make the same mistakes. We still struggle with God's law and Christ's teachings. Not that we disagree with them; they are all noble enough, but that we struggle in living them out.

When was the last time anyone you know sold all of their possessions and gave the money to the poor? When was the last time you stepped out in faith and acted without knowing the result?

I'd love to be a part of a long-term mission project that meant I had to live in lousy conditions and learn how to survive in a rougher environment, but will I ever do it?

I still have trouble just keeping the Sabbath holy. Holy, that is set apart or sacred. I still invariably end up going shopping and causing someone else to work on the Sabbath. My Sabbath (usually a Friday due to working at the church), is usually just a down day, wherein little spiritual nourishment takes place.

Isaiah 58 has something to say about this seemingly simple commandment:

"¹³If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honourable;
if you honour it, not going your own ways,
serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; or speaking words');" onmouseout="return nd();">^*
14then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

So, in keeping the Sabbath, I must learn to not go my own way. I've made the Sabbath my own, not a day set aside for God. Ouch.

Take time. Reflect on your own life. Where do you need to do some spiritual weed pulling? I'm beginning to look around at my own life and I'm seeing a field of thistles.