Isaiah asked me an interesting question this morning. “Why,” he wondered, “do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2) I had to admit to him that I have developed a taste for the artificial. I mean, why eat a cherry when you can have a cherry-flavored candy?
Then I began to wonder if I know anything at all about real. Is Coke the real thing? What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it’s all about? So much is promised, but satisfaction is hard to find. Who can tell me what is real?
Isaiah raises his hand. “Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in rich food.” (Isaiah 55:2)
“Okay, Mr. Prophet. What is this ‘rich food’?”
He says it’s the Word of the LORD. He says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)
“But that’s just it,” I say. “I don’t find him near. The fake is so much more accessible.”
At this point, Isaiah started comparing God’s Word to rain and snow. I tell him that when it rains I usually put up an umbrella. He says rain and snow will make seeds sprout, the grain can be harvested, and bread can be baked.
“That will take too much time,” I complain. “I want the bread right now.”
“Seek the LORD,” Isaiah repeats.
“Couldn’t I just watch a video?”
AND SO< WE CONTINUE TO WAIT AND WAIT________