Supplantings of Grace
"Know ye the land where the cypress and myrtle
Are emblems of deeds that are done in their clime?" —Lord Byron
"Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree..." —Isaiah 55:13
It's not enough to eradicate thorns and thistles. God does more: He causes the cypress and myrtle to flourish where nettles and weeds encumber the ground (55:13). It’s not enough that God removes our vices. He does more: He replaces them one by one with solid virtues, so that the old site of evil becomes a place of rare beauty.
Where cynicism abounded, hope and optimism begin to emerge; where harshness and sarcasm flourished, kind, gentle words appear; where malice and anger produced anxiety and turmoil, forbearance, tranquility and peace start to surface; where lust grew rampant and unrestrained, pure love springs up. This is the supplanted life, the living and lasting sign of God’s work, the only memorial that matters (13b).
And how does this transformation take place?
Just ask him. "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near." (55:6). God can be “found,” when we grow tired of ourselves and our efforts to be good children. Then God calls us, reminding us that he's at hand.
Turn to him, act “before desire shall fail," A.E. Houseman said—turn from all your strategies to sanctify yourself to One who loves you to death—literally. “And he will have mercy on (you)." (55:7).
Sink your roots into God's word and ask him to make his words true in you for, “as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth, making it bear and sprout, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (55.10,11).
Pray God's words into your heart and it will begin to bear fruit. You can count on it. God's grace will "come down" and beauty will "spring up"; his word will accomplish the purpose for which he sends it.
"My ways are not your ways,” God says, “nor are my thoughts your thoughts” (55.8). Unlike our ways to make ourselves better, God’s ways work!
David Roper
7.9.18
