"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David... Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near...You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:1-3,6,12)
What do you do when you are invited to a party? You send the RSVP or call in your RSVP and you confirm (if schedule allows) that you will attend. Your response is required so that the party host will know who will attend and how many to plan for. It's not only polite to return your RSVP, it is an important response and action on your part...in essence you are saying "I will be there!"
In the above passage of Isaiah, the invitations for forgiveness have been sent out by God. He wants to make what was broken whole again. The prophecy of Messiah (Jesus) is evident in two key verses two chapters back:
Isaiah 52:13 "See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted."
&
Isaiah 53:12 "Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
Forgiveness is at hand, the RSVP has been hand delivered to all of us, and the Host of this Redemptive party is awaiting our response. The most telling portion of chapter 55 in Isaiah is verse 6...it says "Seek the Lord while he may be found..." It is a frightening proposition here because He seems to be saying to us, 'make up your minds while you can.' The implication is that our RSVP has a expiration date and we ought not postpone our response.
Forgiveness and redemption is ours, the Host of Heaven stands at the front door inviting us in...what will your response be? Either we enter and accept His love and forgiveness or we don't because soon that door will be closed...soon we will all be standing before Him, and in contrast, probably the most frightening passage in all of scripture is Matthew 25:31-46 when Jesus himself states clear that the day is coming when the King will separate the sheep from goats and He will say to the goats (those who have not accepted His invitation to forgiveness and redemption) "'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" (Matthew 25:41)
We have this contrast of those who will accept the invitation and those who will not. Yet there is hope...there is time, but if you haven't accepted the invitation, don't let this time slip away. Redemption draws near, your RSVP is requested...what will your answer be?
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