An Invitation from God

Salvation is a free gift from our gracious, compassionate Lord. We bring nothing to the table. Jesus paid the full price Himself.

An Invitation from God

This week's devotions are written by my friend Jessica Hermann, former director of our college ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church.

- Pastor Danny

My husband and I moved to a new city back in February to serve at a church. My husband is the children's and youth pastor, and I serve alongside him, also working at the church part time. We love this church and the ministry God has called us to there. The only thing that was troubling us was the difficulty we were having finding friends of similar age to us. There just are not too many people around our age in the church. We began praying for friends, and the next week, a couple our age visited the church! Don't tell me that is a coincidence! The Lord hears our prayers. We went with them to a young adult home group meeting last week, and we read and discussed Isaiah 55 together. This passage was so encouraging to me, so I want to walk through it with you this week. Let's begin with verse 1.

"Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food."

Notice how this chapter begins with an invitation. This whole chapter is an invitation, in fact, from the Lord to come to Him. "Come," He says. A simple but powerful invitation. The Lord of the universe has extended an invitation to you. He invites you to come. The best part of this invitation is what comes next. The almighty God invites you to come to Him for all your needs, and He offers to meet them for free.

This section of Isaiah, from chapter 49-57, is all about God's "Suffering Servant". After many chapters pronouncing judgment, the book shifts to discuss salvation! The Lord promises to deliver Israel and put an end to her captivity in Babylon, but these chapters clearly point to a greater salvation: the salvation from our sins that comes through the Suffering Servant who is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. These prophetic chapters tell of the promised deliverer who redeems Israel through His blood.

The Lord invites all to come to Him and enjoy all His benefits. Wine and milk (verse 1) are often used as symbols for satisfaction of needs but also for abundance. He offers all we need and then some. This section of scripture points us to the fact that God welcomes sinners to himself, and He offers them free grace.

These verses are a beautiful picture of salvation and help us to build our theology of salvation. They remind me of Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Salvation is a free gift from our gracious, compassionate Lord. We bring nothing to the table. Jesus paid the full price Himself, and it is only through this that we can be extended the offer to "come buy wine and milk without money and without price." But we all know that nothing is ever truly free. Someone has to pay for it. We can come "without money and without price" because Jesus has paid the price through His suffering on the cross for us.

Rejoice today, believer, in your salvation through the suffering of God's Servant. Remember all that He has afforded you and act accordingly. Furthermore, tell someone else about God's glorious invitation to them today. Tell them that His forgiveness and His benefits are for all who are willing to come. They need not pay for it, for indeed, they cannot, and it has already been paid for by the One who can.