Isaiah 34-35, as a unit, is a coin with two sides....a battery with two teminals. Is. 34 talks about God's retribution (-), and Is. 35 talks about God's restoration (+). And this restoration will be a perfect completion to his 1) kingdom, 2) people, and 3) the earth. And though that is great, I am struck by the fact that this restoration is still "one day." In other words, it is eventual. Which means, it ain't happened yet! Bummer, huh?
So what do we do in the meantime while we are livng in what I call the "Valley of the In-Between?" Answer: Let God renew us! Paul makes a strong case for renewal in the here-and-now in 2 Corinthians 4 when he says "though our outward man is perishing, our inward man is renewed day by day." This renewal is inward, and it is daily. I find it intriguing that Paul is not promising outward and lasting quick fixes now, but instead inner resiliance, and that even on an "as-needed" basis. (Reminds me of the passage where God promised Paul that his "grace was sufficient.")
So there it is -- Restoration one day, renewal today! The difference is all in the timing...the "when." So let's fix our eyes on the inside...let's make sure we are looking at what matters most during our time on earth: a rightly renewed heart!
1 comment:
Thanks for the clarification. I think it is helpful to make distinction between future "Restoration" and present "Renewal". That was the point I was trying to make in my comment, just didn't lay out the argument as convincingly as you did. The fact that God renews the inner man on a daily basis, points to his eventual restoration "one day".
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