This chapter was rather bizarre to read. In it, Isaiah walks around naked for 3 years to symbolically represent what God would let happen to Egypt and Ethiopia. First off – what an insane way to live! How many people could have lived according to this command of God? It is moments like this one that I consider my own life and faith in God. There are individuals in the Bible that do considerably difficult tasks because God commanded it. Hosea pursuing a prostitute as a wife. Isaiah walking around naked. Jesus going to the cross. How can I live according to this Word? In many ways, these stories pop up in my mind as archetypes for my own struggles. My own struggles of obedience are much smaller. Little things like writing a letter to a dear friend with some hard words. Taking a walk during the day to stop and pray when anxiety clutches at my heart. Praying for a stranger because the Spirit prompted me. It is so easy to self-deceive myself into believing that “one day” I will be a great hero of the faith. Believing the lie that my life struggles are monumental enough to grace the annals of redemption stories declaring God’s wonders. These thoughts alone are folly. What does it mean to live a “glorious” life? The road is not clean or devoid of pain and suffering. God’s refining fire is fierce. When my own discipline is not enough to keep myself from straying off the straight and narrow, how can I expect to reflect holiness?
Haven’t I stumbled upon the fatal flaw? Me. In all the comments above, the focus is on me. The source of strength is my own willpower, my own perspective, my own growth, my own status in society, my own successes. Without realizing it, how many of us talk like Golem from Lord of the Rings? “My own, my love, my precious.” Possessive and self-focused on the sin we love and hate. Casting aside the voice of God in our life for the seductive assurance of self-fulfillment that leads to carnal and spiritual mutilation. In the struggle for freedom we bind ourselves to this earth through material gains. Intellectually one can acknowledged that materials mean nothing in the end. But isn’t it much harder to live? After all, we spend 90% of our time working for physical sustenance! We feed our bodies three times every day but neglect to feed our souls. We feast on food that literally turns to poop while ignoring the Waters of Life found in the Word of God.
Some portion of me acknowledges that the struggles Isaiah, Hosea and Jesus endured are temporary moments in time. Yet, it feels like they would be all encompassing once lived through. Isn’t life completely altered after going through such experiences? Contemporary psychology would argue that these events leave irreparable scars. Identity becomes tied to these events. This is not quite the case. Jesus’ identity is not purely defined by the cross – despite how glorious and important it was for salvation and the redemption of creation! His identity is tied into something deeper. Something more intrinsic than actions and reactions. His identity is the Son of God, the Word made Flesh and the Lamb that was Slain before the Foundation of the World. Identity and actions are separate and yet tied together. When I ponder James and the discussion between belief and action, identity and action are very similar. Here though the roles are often reversed. James is arguing with people who proclaim beliefs with their mouths but fail to act it out. Inversed from this, it is easy to pair identity with action. I am what I do. My grandfather used to say “We are human ‘beings’ not human ‘doings’.” This sort of differentiation is important. Identity is not dictated by action but rather action unveils identity. For example, many Jews looked for a Messiah whose identity would be revealed by the actions performed. This struggle of strapping actions and events in one’s life to identity is one I wish to further explore in my own personal walk with Christ. It is so easy to take on the yoke other people place on your shoulders; whether they are ideas, activities, mindsets, perspectives, friendships, morals, political correctness, etc. Shedding the fear and control of others to walk in confidence according to God’s direction in your life is very, very difficult but utterly necessary for experiencing Freedom in Christ.
Another facet of pondering Isaiah’s confidence in obedience is that wholeness of his person. As a Christian, my identity is in Jesus Christ. Born again as an adopted son of God into the Kingdom of Heaven. When I choose to take on the identity of my bodily flesh, there is nothing but manipulation available to keep up appearances. When the Spirit is living in my body through my obedience, the circumstances of life become irrelevant. Employment, friends, family, politics, opinions, logic, education, income bracket, etc. These fading value scales cease to carry weight. This is the Word become Flesh in me. This is walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Word. Like Peter on the water, the storms fade away in sight of Christ. It is when our focus is turned aside from looking to God that everything falls apart. I desire to walk in the Word, let the Spirit live in me and experience the joy of breathing the free air again. I hope you too are able to rest in your identity in Christ to enjoy the Freedom of true Life.
