I’m not sure of the source of some of my ideas, but somewhere along the way, I had adopted them. One of those ideas was that if, after several years, a proclaimed Christian was not progressively becoming less like our culture and more like Jesus, they may have been born again, but they must have been stillborn. Like most incorrect thinking, this notion had a measure of truth and error in it, but the flaw part escaped my awareness.
I recently have been reflectively processing through the book of Isaiah when the Holy Spirit alerted me to my flawed concept. In chapters 41& 42, Isaiah was describing His servant, the Messiah, in contrast to the impotent cultural idols. Amid that, Isaiah quotes God as saying, a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice (Isaiah 42:3, ESV). More simply, He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged (Isaiah 42:3, NLT2). The weakest reed, or a flickering candle, refers to a person whose spiritual life is about to go out. The truth found in these verses is like a double-edged sword. At first glance, that verse seems to have spoken of a very high percent of those who classify themselves as Christians. I say that because these days, far more Christians knowingly embrace more of the cultural value system than sincerely desire to live as Jesus taught. If that is the case, God’s grace would include anyone who even remotely identifies with being a Christian. The opposite edge offers a delightful hope to all who occasionally struggle in their spiritual life yet are persistent enough to repent.
It is absolutely essential that we examine all of scripture before we presumptuously declare doctrinal truth from one verse. A few chapters later, the same person who wrote the above description of the Messiah also wrote a qualifier to the weakest reed or flickering candle. Here, God says I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts (Isaiah 57:15, NLT2). More simply, “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts (Isaiah 57:15, NLT2). This tells us about the decisive factor in the Holy Spirit not crushing a faintly burning wick, is the attitude of their heart. If the heart is driven by a contrite, humble, crushed in spirit, and consequential repentant heart, He will not quench it! The delightful fact is, He will patiently nurture it until it glows brightly again. Seeing the verses together, Isaiah’s words become consistent with the rest of what Old and New Testaments state.
This awakening gave me a fresh perspective. Unintentionally, I have invested support in capable individuals who only want to use my love. Of course, I must be careful to show God’s love and acceptance to everyone. However, prior to suppressing my patience and offering supportive guidance to a struggling believer, I must carefully and prayerfully evaluate the disposition of the heart of the individual. I sensed I have inadvertently skipped that step too many times and misappropriated my time and energy. How about you? Have you missed out on investing in the earnest flickering candles and wasted your time and valuable effort with someone who did not sincerely have a humble and remorseful heart? By God’s grace, I hope to become more efficient by collaborating with the Spirit instead of presumptuously evaluating who to reach out to support and drain away my time and energy. Do you care to join me in this refocus?