Beyond self
For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are. We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. Isaiah 59:12-13 NLT
God wants us to be honest of our own sinfulness. He does not want us to glaze over the sins we have committed. From the text, this is what Isaiah is calling people to do. They need to be honest before God and admit to Him their shortcomings. The only way we can be reconciled with God is when we own up and confess to Him our sins. This is when spiritual revival can take place. Already God demonstrated through the sacrifice and death of our Lord Jesus Christ that He will absorb our guilt. All He wants is for us to be honest before Him. He already carried with Him at the cross the penalty of our sins and the wrath of God. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is the grace of God that will bring about real healing into this world manifested through the lives of those who received it because of their faith in Him. Christ’s death at the cross provided us an example of how life should be lived in this world. It is by His righteousness given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ that we think beyond our own selfish desires. We are no longer treating others unfairly and oppressing taking advantage of others, “carefully planning our deceitful lies” (Isaiah 59:13). The kind of Christianity that God wants us to demonstrate is a life of unselfishness not looking for our own earthly benefits. When this happens in the life of believers, God is pleased and the gospel message is heard loudly.
Blessings,