A few years back, I came across a couple verses that were very familiar to me. I probably memorized them in Vacation Bible School or Sunday School when I was a kid.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Sometimes when we read the Bible, the verses are just verses. Familiar or not, we just continue reading and move on to the next. Then there are times, seemingly out of nowhere, the verses are like someone shining a bright light in our eyes. You say, “Whoa! What was that?” Then we read it again and again and again. Each time it becomes brighter, broader in its scope.
I’m often critical of people, who I have conversations with, for using the broad brush. Specificity is one of the keys to understanding, clarifying a thought. Yet, here God uses an extremely broad brush in saying “My thoughts”, “Your thoughts”, “Your ways, My ways”. In this case, the lack of specificity is the lesson. It suggests that our natural inclinations aren’t even close to the way God thinks or how he wants us to live. Given that God is Omniscient and we aren’t, we would expect to be off here and there. But off on everything?
A couple months ago, I went to a lecture on C.S. Lewis. It was an ok lecture. Nothing too profound, except for one thought the speaker shared that Lewis was known for that I had never heard before. He said, “Reason is the organ of truth. Imagination is the organ of meaning.” That was the first time I had heard the quote, but it isn’t the first time I had practiced it, proven it to be true. I just had no definitive description of what I was doing, what we all do.
As I read the verses in Isaiah this time, my “imagination” engaged. My reason had long ago grasped the truth of the verses, but hadn’t gone any further. Now, I began to wonder, imagine, at the implication of this truth.
If His thoughts are not my thoughts and my ways are not His ways, then, the logical question at this point would be; What are His thoughts? What are His ways?
We all grow up with ideas of who God is. Even atheists have thoughts of who God is, though they say they don’t believe He exists. But for those of us who believe He does exist, especially those of us who have been raised in the Church and are, to differing degrees, familiar with what Scripture says about Him, how often do we ponder our notions of who God is, what His thoughts are, or what are His ways? It takes discipline to do this. It takes time imagining what this idea, this statement means to me in a functional sense. It’s easy to become so familiar with a thought that we start to glance over it. In a way, we take it for granted. As we become more familiar with any subject, and this applies to reading Scripture as well, we have to guard against this kind of familiarity that numbs our thoughts. I’m pretty sure this is one of the reasons for the Philippians verse, that tells us to “think on these things”. I found it interesting that the first thing it tells us to “think on” is “whatever things are true”. Sounds pretty simple, elementary. But, how much of what we know or think about God is true rather than a notion we picked up along the way?
“That our idea of God corresponds as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may be buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing, are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God.” A.W.Tozer
Why is this probing necessary?
Because, as Tozer puts it, “A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse.” The Knowledge of the Holy
What are His thoughts? What are His ways? Most people tend to settle for some kind of combination of their culture and what they feel Christianity to be. As I mentioned before, we cannot trust our natural inclinations. II Corinthians 5:17, 20 says; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us”. We are not here, on this planet, to represent Republican or Democrat. America or Russia. University of Michigan or Ohio State.
When Jesus came, he did not meet the expectations of the natural man. He did not save Israel from Roman oppression. Likewise, He will not use a political solution to heal our land.
We cannot know who God is by logic and even rational, critical thought alone, though all these things are useful. It is only through and because of the work of Jesus on the cross, His death and resurrection, that we are transformed, that we have been freed from the slavery to our nature, that we can even begin, through the Holy Spirit, to know His thoughts and to practice His ways. It is through the studying and pondering His Word, through praying for wisdom, insight, and understanding of the Scripture. We must live according to the truth we know. We must make the effort to judge our thoughts, words, and deeds according to God’s Word. It is therefore incumbent upon us to pursue God, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is necessary to resist what is natural, until that which is natural, becomes like Christ.
The following are some Scriptures that support the subject.
I Peter 3: 15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
I Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
Ephesians 4 “Lay aside the old self” “Put on the new self”.
Galatians 3:27-28 “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:1-3 “1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
II Corinthians 5: 17, 20 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us”
To be continued…