Us

That must surely be the shortest title to any of these blogs and I can't believe that it is over 2 months since I began this series. I can't remember now what interrupted it or why I never got back to it but I can remember where I wanted to end up.

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Is 1:18 NKJV

The previous verses have built up a relentless accusation against God's people and the gap between man and God has seldom been expressed so completely. And yet in the face of this stark contrast God uses the personal pronoun 'us'. 'Us' implies some commonality. With some people there is a massive common ground and 'us' or 'we' comes easily. There are fewer things in common with my dog, although I occasionally use 'we' on one of our walks. What commonality would I have with a rock? Hardly any.

This little word always arrests me when I read this passage of Isaiah. God says 'us'; let 'us' reason together. What commonality is there between this description of man apart from God and God himself, and yet God says 'us', and even more amazingly 'let us'. We might have expected a lightening bolt of judgment but in its place comes this gentle invitation. No matter how marred the image has become, no matter how thoroughly the likeness has been vandalised, God draws near and says 'there is something we must do together here'. What a gospel...

Come...

now...

and let us reason together...