"Seek the Lord"
Isaiah 55:1-9
The older I get the more I become aware of how short this life really is.
When we are in our teens, twenties and even thirties it can seem as if we have all the time in the world to waste.
Twenty-some-odd years ago I was hanging out with an old high school buddy.
We were both very young--basically right out of college.
We had grown up going to the same church, Sunday school classes and Youth Group.
We had known one another for a long time.
Our parents were friends with one another.
We had similar backgrounds.
We both believed in God and Jesus.
In any event, we were talking about faith, life, God--all that kinds of stuff, and my friend said something interesting.
And what he said is similar to what I have heard many, many folks say down through the years.
I've said it myself.
He said, "I believe in Jesus, and someday I will give my life to Him.
But not now.
I have too many other things I want to do first."
Have you ever said that either to yourself or someone else--or even to God perhaps?
"Jesus, I believe in You.
I believe You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Someday, I will give my life to following you.
But not now.
Not yet.
Right now, I have a whole lot of other stuff I want to do--stuff that has nothing to do with You."
When we are young or even a little bit older than young--it can seem as if we have all the time in the world.
And so, what do we do?
Oftentimes we waste time.
We waste it running after and seeking something that can satisfy us--when nothing other than a living relationship with God truly can.
It's been said that "Time is the most precious commodity for any living thing."
And there is a lot of truth to that.
We are given a certain amount of time we can spend in life.
Once we run out, we’re out.
There is no buying it back.
There is no borrowing or creating time.
And we have no idea how much time we actually have.
We could have another couple of decades, or we could only have another couple of hours.
We're almost never given a head’s up when we're about to run out of time; death is almost always a surprise.
We never know how much this next upcoming minute is really worth; it could very well be our last.
Unfortunately, most of us don’t think about the value of time.
We will all run out of time no matter what.
The worst thing we can do is waste it.
Why, then, do we run around seeking things that can never fully satisfy us?
Why do we waste so much time on so much junk?
There can be no doubt that we live in a world which is filled with constant promotion.
It seems that everywhere we turn we are bombarded with offers and false promises to fill every want and desire imaginable.
And it's really easy for us to become convinced that we really, really need something--that, in all reality--we don't: a bigger car, a bigger house, a different lover.
These offers are false.
They promise to satisfy but are just empty calories--junk food really.
And when we start running after these false promises, we are in the process of running away from God.
And, any way of life that turns us away from God is a way of life that leads to our starvation and death.
In our Scripture passage for this morning God reminds us: "My plans aren't your plans, nor are your ways my ways."
Isaiah writes: "Why spend money for what isn't food, and your earnings for what doesn't satisfy?
Listen carefully...
...Listen and come to me; listen and you will live."
Are you listening to God?
Am I?
Are we interested in what God has to say or are we too busy wasting time?
When I was in seminary, some of us took turns leading a monthly Communion Service at a local nursing home.
These services were held in the lounge at one end of the building.
It was the best space they had and it had a piano so this meant we could sing together.
Even so, the space was less than ideal.
Those who got there early got the comfortable seats that were against the walls.
Those who got there later had to sit in a metal folding chair, setting their cane or walker aside --- which would often cause traffic problems.
And a whole lot of others would sit in the aisles in their wheel chairs.
When it came time to share the bread and juice of Communion, you would find yourself moving carefully so as not to get tangled up in someone's feet or wheelchair or walker or cane.
One time, as I moved to those folks seated near the doorway I came to Hannah who was, by then, well into her nineties.
She sat hunched forward in her wheel chair looking down at her lap.
As I came to her I wondered if she was asleep.
In any event, I leaned down; I pressed the wafer into her palm and spoke the words, "The body of Christ, given for you."
It turned out that Hannah was not asleep.
In fact, her head jerked up and she said loud enough for everyone to hear,
"How much does it cost?"
I was so surprised, I didn't answer at first, but Hannah asked again, "How much does it cost?"
This time my words came tumbling out, "But, Hannah," I stuttered. "It doesn't cost anything. It's free!"
It seems that Hannah had lived her whole life in a world where everything cost something.
"How much does it cost?"
"Something so great can't possibly be free!!!"
The Good News of Jesus Christ IS that the Best Thing in the World is actually FREE!!!
And it is that for which our souls yearn.
It is that for which we are all running around buying up whatever new gadget or shiny thing the world produces, hoping that this will finally satisfy our continual cravings.
Jesus paid the price and He offers it to us for FREE!!!
And what it is--is a living relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
It literally transforms who we are.
It transforms our wants and desires.
It changes our focus and purpose.
It causes our lives to take on new meaning.
It is the only thing which can change hate into love, conflict into peace, and selfishness into selfless service.
It is the ONE HOPE--the ONLY HOPE for the world--and it is FREE!!!
There is no money that can buy it; there is nothing we can do to earn it.
It is God's gift.
It is what we have been created to enjoy.
It is life, and life to the full.
And so the Prophet Isaiah asks: "Why spend money for what isn't food, and your earnings for what doesn't satisfy...?
All of you who are thirsty, come to the water!
Whoever has no money, come, buy food and eat!
Without money, at no cost, buy wine and milk!"
"Listen and come to me; listen and you will live...
Seek the Lord when he can still be found; call him while he is yet near...
...return to the Lord...
...he is generous with forgiveness."
God has great plans for your life; for my life.
They are good plans.
They are plans to prosper us and not harm us.
They are plans that give us a hope and a future.
Perhaps you are sitting here this morning, and you remember a time when your life was completely focused on God.
Perhaps you have tasted and experienced that the Lord is good, but somehow you have wandered away from God.
Isaiah's Words help us to hear the truth so that we can commit or recommit ourselves to God's free offer of love and meaning found only in a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the midst of the false promises for the good life, the full life, the successful life, the happy life, the meaningful life, or the exciting life that the world holds up--like fool's gold--Isaiah implores us to "Seek the Lord when he can still be found; call him while he is yet near. Let the wicked abandon their ways and the sinful their schemes.
Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them, to our God, because he is generous and forgiving."
Let's not waste this precious time called life on things which don't satisfy, on things that are material, on things that are mere scraps when we could be feasting on God.
