![[Photo of a frozen rose with words superimposed-]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Isaiah_1_18_let_us_reason.jpg)
| “Wash and make yourselves clean.” |
| —Isaiah 1:16 |
Far too often, across the span of my life, I have heard people say words that are similar to these words:
“If only I can live a good enough life, perhaps I will get to heaven.”
So many people continue to believe that their eternal salvation is a “Do-It-Yourself” endeavor. But, there are some things we humans simply can’t do for ourselves.
As a teen in high school my most dreaded period of the day was sixth period Physical Education class. I hated P. E.! Please let me explain:
As an extremely obese person, I hated Physical Education class because of all the things I could not do. And, of all of those many impossible challenges, I hated the pommel horse the most.
Relatively tall in those long-ago days at 6 ft. 2 in., but weighing over 250 pounds, I could not make it over the pommel horse. No matter how fast I tried to run. No matter how high I tried to jump. No matter how hard I tried to pull myself up and over the pommel horse, I just could not succeed.
The P. E. teacher mocked me and humiliated me and gave me the only failing grade I ever received in high school. He told me once—whispered in my ear, actually—that he hated fat people. He told me I was a source of shame to other humans. He added that I would likely die young and he would celebrate my death.
Even though his harsh words did not motivate me, I did keep trying to mount that pommel horse. But, no matter how hard I tried, I could not make it over that horse.
Looking back, while I don’t agree with all of his methods, nor with the way he treated me, the P. E. Teacher was probably trying to motivate me into making drastic changes in my life. I knew that I was fat. I knew that I was repulsive to many people. I heard people, especially women, snicker whenever they saw me. I felt discouraged and hurt many times. But, none of this motivated me to make changes in my physical condition.
In truth, there were likely many things the P. E. teacher could have done to help me achieve the goal of mounting that pommel horse. He could see that I couldn’t do it by myself. I needed instruction and assistance. There are just too many things in life that we can’t actually do by ourselves.
The prophet Isaiah was faced with a task even more daunting than that of a severly overweight boy mounting a pommel horse. God had chosen Isaiah to speak on God’s behalf to the wayward people of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Isaiah was to show the people they needed to change. But, he also gave them hope.
Here’s Isaiah 1:16-18:
“Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
“Come now, let us settle the matter,”says the Lord.“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson,they shall be like wool.”
The people of Judah could not wash and make themselves clean, for salvation only comes from God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Though they needed to do everything God told them to do, they could only do it through the power of the Holy Spirit. God had to provide the very salvation that they so desperately needed. There was no DIY salvation.
How fortunate we are that God has washed us thoroughly in the blood of His Son. There is no DIY salvation for us either. But, God has given us our salvation in and through Jesus.
Let us praise Him this day for our salvation. And, let us obediently live as ones who have been plucked from the fires of hell.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, October 27, 2015
