Briers and Thorns
Isaiah 27:1-13

The Lord stands ready to offer deliverance.  He wants to deliver us from the bondage of sin.   He wants to deliver us from a lost relationship without Him.  He wants to deliver us from hopelessness, from worry, from sorrow, from guilt -- from all that was introduced by Adam's original sin.  His hand is reaching out, His arms are open, He is saying come, those who are wearied by the fallen world, those who are struggling to earn a place in heaven, and He will give you rest.

It's a free gift.  There's nothing that anyone needs to do to receive it.  Well, almost nothing.  We have to take it.  We have to reach out, we have to turn around and face a loving Father, we have to be willing to receive it.  It's our choice.  God will not force us to take what we don't want.  If we are unwilling to accept His forgiveness, if we decide we don't need His love, He will not make us take it.  To force us into a relationship with Him against our will is not love.  Every choice comes with a consequence, the result of that choice.  God tells us what the result of a choice to accept His forgiveness is, and He also makes clear what the result of not accepting it is.

In our natural state, we are like briers and thorns, whose only purpose seems to be to prick at our Creator.  In that state, we are not an enemy -- we are a nuisance at best.  He could just uproot us, burn us out, cut us down if it were His mind.  But He gives us a choice.  We can make peace with Him.  We can accept His gift.  We can fall into His arms.  He will take us, thorns and all, embrace us and, as we abide in Him, He will cultivate us, prune us, and through His tender care, help us to produce good fruit.

Father, we thank you that, even when we hated you, you loved us and died for us.  Thank you for accepting us as we are.  Thank you for helping us to grow in you.  Father, please help us to remember what we were without you, not so that we would live in guilt, but so that we can understand those who have not accepted your gift, and so that we can show them your desire to give just as freely to them.  In Jesus' name, amen.