Made in God’s Image

 

 

READ Isaiah 11–15

Yesterday’s Memorial Service was a most incredible experience. The man who died had deeply affected his children, grand-children, and great grandchildren. As they shared what he did in their lives, seeing the fruit of it was easy. For one thing, everyone is determined to make this world a better place. No one mentioned biblical principles, yet the ideas of goodness and righteousness shone forth.

Somehow, this man who died at age 104 left a family profoundly altered by a goodness they didn’t seem to realize. As we glorified the work of God, they seemed willing to acknowledge it and if they read the today’s portions of Isaiah, may even cheer, “So be it!”

The prophet speaks of Jesus this way:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. (Isaiah 11:1–4)

Jesus has the rare attitude of unselfish judgment. We saw hints of this in the family who were impacted by their forward-thinking patriarch. He was fair-minded. He was also interested in everything and everyone, seldom drawing attention to himself. He had a PhD; I didn’t know that. He played wild tag with his granddaughter in public places; I didn’t know that. The list is long of what he accomplished.

He did know the Gospel and wanted Ben Franklin’s epitaph said at his funeral. His life demonstrated love for people and our planet. I wondered if he had ever said words like this:

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:1–4)

I wondered if he rejoiced at God’s plan for the wicked as Isaiah said, “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt . . . . I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.” (Isaiah 13:6–7; 11)

Probably not. He was more apt to think of ways to change the way things were done, rather than criticize those who were foolish in their actions. That attitude had a profound affect on his family. It also affected me. I find it easier to point out the foolishness of calling evil good and good evil. My cousin might shake his head but instead of pointing fingers, he worked on theories to change, to produce something that would cause, “the whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.” (Isaiah 14:7)

Some of the family did not want spiritual overtones in the Memorial, yet when I shared how God answered my prayers for this man, all faces reflected acceptance and thankfulness, some saying, “That needed to be said.”

My hubby and I agree that the hand of God was involved to build a biblical attitude in his family without drawing verbal attention to Himself. For us who know Him and His ways, His presence in our cousin’s life was incredibly obvious. We came away from the events of yesterday and the honor given to this incredibly special man filled with praise for the Lord for what He can do and humbled to realize how He shapes lives for His purposes, even the lives of those who say, “I don’t have faith like you do, but I’m not against it.”

One thought runs through my mind: when anyone marvels at the beauty of a flower, God does not shout at them, “Look what I made” — He merely makes them aware that this flower is incredibly lovely. He can do the same with all of us whom He created in His image.