Sermonstudio

I will say to the north, "Give them up!" and to the south, "Do not hold them back." Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth -- everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, "It is true." "You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed -- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "that I am God. Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?"

Here God proclaims that one day all those who belong to him will be called forth from all the ends of the earth. This "everyone" includes all who are called by the name of God; all whom God has created; even those who have been blinded or who have become deaf. I take this last qualifier to mean those who have stopped seeing and hearing God. Even these shall be called forth to come home. This is an expansive promise, and one that is deeply encouraging to the likes of me who believe that God's love is much more gracious and inclusive than we sometimes think. This text might be used to offer hope to those who have lost someone whose faith is uncertain because it says, or at least it hints at, that God's love, in its ability to draw all humanity home, may be well beyond our ability to understand. It may burst the bonds that we place on it. It may just find a way to include those we, in our smallness, cannot conceive of being included. The Isaiah 43:6-9 passage offers great hope. Read it again.

Give them all back to me! Hold none back! Sons and daughters! Everyone I made! Let them come to me! I love this passage for it speaks of a love that is truly boundless.