UNFORGETTABLE YOU
Isaac Butterworth
Isaiah 49:15-18 (NRSV)
15/ Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16/ See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. 17/ Your builders outdo your destroyers, and those who laid you waste go away from you. 18/ Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you shall put all of them on like an ornament, and like a bride you shall bind them on.
I didn’t get involved in the church until I was a teenager, but when I got involved, I got involved. I would go by the church almost every day to see if there were something I might do -- any little task, any errand, any job. I loved my church quite a lot, and there was no place I had rather be than with those people.
Somewhere along the way, my pastor mentioned to me that, in a week or so, he was going with some of the other members of our church to an event in Dallas. Would I like to go? “You bet!” I said. And I couldn’t think about anything else over the next several days. It was like Christmas; it seemed to me that the day would never arrive. And when it did, I could hardly contain my excitement.
That afternoon, when I got home from school, I did my homework first thing. I did my chores, changed clothes, and made sure I was ready when my pastor showed up. We agreed that he would pick me up at five o’clock, so at five o’clock I was ready to go. I didn’t want anybody having to wait for me.
But, as it turned out, I had to wait for him. Five o’clock came, and he didn’t show. Five-thirty came, and I was getting worried. Six o’clock came, and I called his house, but there was no answer. Six-thirty came, and it finally dawned on me that I had been forgotten.
I was crushed. It was one of the most painful experiences I ever had. There was no one more important to me than my pastor. He had taught me so many things. He had helped me earn money to go to camp. He had even taken me with him on some of his calls. But I wasn’t going to be with him that night. He had forgotten.
There are some people we don’t expect to forget us, aren’t there? But the truth is, people are people, and all people sometimes forget. Isaiah, in our text, asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?”
It’s not likely, is it? But it is possible. Mothers, like pastors, are human. We’re all human. We’re all finite. In our text from Isaiah, the Lord grants this. He says, “Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.”
It’s a reassuring promise, isn’t it. And it encourages us to rely on God like no other. What does the old hymn say? “The arm of flesh will fail you.” We dare not put our ultimate trust in the frailties of human strength. Only God is completely worthy of our trust.
Isaiah uses four word pictures in this passage to show us how trustworthy is our God. These images tell us that we ought to trust God because of what he’s like.
I. GOD IS LIKE A MOTHER
First of all, as we have seen, God is like a mother. Verse 15 asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb?” We have already agreed that, while it is not probable, it is possible. “Even these may forget,” God says, “but I will not forget you.”
You’ve heard of self-defining moments, I’m sure. A self-defining moment occurs when something happens that determines your identity from that instant forward. Because of some event or incident, whatever it may be, you will never be the same again.
I had such a moment each time my children were born. I can still remember the first time I saw each of them. It was the most remarkable experience I have ever had. I fell in love with them instantly. I felt a physical sensation from the top of my head to the souls of my feet. I was overcome with joy. And I was now somebody I had never been before. I was a father, to be sure, but I was not just a father. I was Jonathan’s father. I was Catherine’s father. Each of these children came to have a place in my heart that would belong to no other.
Has my love for them ever failed? Not in intention, it hasn’t, but I have to confess that at times I have been preoccupied with myself, and I have failed to show them the love I have for them.
But now, consider God. He has for each of us -- for you, for me -- a place in his heart that belongs to no other. Will his love for you ever fail? No. It cannot happen. It will not happen. Our own parents may fail us at times, but God never will. He is like the mother who never forgets.
II. GOD IS LIKE AN OBSESSED LOVER
God is also like an obsessed lover. Let me tell you what I mean by that. I have known people so captivated by romance that they have had the name of their beloved tattooed on their body. I knew one man who did that, and the woman he loved eventually broke it off with him. Her name was Marie, and -- tattoo or no -- she decided her future wasn’t with him. And there he was, with the name Marie indelibly emblazoned in a conspicuous place! When he later married, he had to get his wife’s name tattooed on his body as well. In some ways, it’s too bad that he couldn’t have married a woman whose name was also Marie!
All this talk of tattoos may seem strangely out of place, but actually, it isn’t. In verse 16 of our text from Isaiah, the Lord says, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” In other words, God has tattooed your name on his hands. He could never forget you!
Not that he would want to, but even if he did, how could he. Your name would be constantly before his eyes. Who does things like this? An obsessed -- if not too prudent -- lover, for one. And God. God does things like this. He wants you to know that you can trust him. He will never forget you. He will never forsake you.
III. GOD IS LIKE A WATCHMAN
And he will ever watch over you. Look at the latter part of verse 16. “Your walls are continually before me,” God says. He is like a night watchman who never takes a break.
When I was very young, my grandfather worked for a time as a night watchman. His assignment was a textile plant that manufactured carpet. I never got to see him at work, but I sometimes got to see him before he left for the job and sometimes when he came home. He wore a badge and what I would call a police hat. He didn’t carry a gun, but he was allowed to carry a stick. I can remember that he would sometimes let me wear his hat and play with his stick. And I thought how important his job was, to make sure that the people who worked at the plant were safe and that the manufacturer’s property would not be disturbed.
God says that’s how he is. He announces, “Your builders outdo your destroyers, and those who laid you waste go away from you.” So you can sleep securely. God is watching over you.
IV. GOD IS LIKE JEWELER
A mother’s love, a lover’s obsession, a night watchman’s attentive eye -- are these give expression to God’s interest in you. A final word picture that Isaiah uses here is that of a jeweler. Let me show you what I mean.
The historical setting for these words out of Isaiah is worth mentioning. The nation of Judah had suffered conquest at the hands of the Babylonians. In fact, the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem, leveled the temple, and carried every able-bodied person into captivity. It was an awful time, and you can understand how the people might have thought God had forgotten them.
But now, God says to Judah, all your exiles are coming home. “Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather, they come to you.” And then this: “As I live, says the Lord” -- he’s banking his life on it -- “you shall put all of them on like an ornament, and like a bride you shall bind them on.”
Judah’s exiled people would be restored to her like so many dazzling diamonds and other precious stones. Like a jeweler, God would awe his people with the beauty of the final outcome.
We, too, have the assurance that God will place before us in splendid array his many, many blessings. And they shall adorn our lives like ornaments.
So, why wouldn’t you put your trust in a God like this? Mothers may forget -- they’re human, too. Lovers may be mistaken. Watchmen may look away. Jewels may no longer allure. But God will never forget. He will never leave you. He will never look away. And he will always bring beauty and joy to your heart. That’s the way he is, and that’s why we should place our trust in him.
