Saturday, January 03, 2009

We Esteemed Him Not

"He is despised and rejected of men;

a man of sorrows,

and acquainted with grief:

and we hid as it were our faces from him;

he was despised,

and we esteemed him not."

Isaiah 53:3



I've been in this verse for 2 days now and that last line keeps playing through my mind today. "we esteemed Him not"

We, as a group and as individuals, did not value Him, the Son of God, who was born specifically to die as a payment for our (my) sins. Even after all that He went through- being despised and rejected, filled with sorrow (over my sins?), acquainted with grief- even after all of that, we hid our faces from Him, we turned away and did not value Him or hold Him in high regard.


Isaiah is speaking of a future time from the one in which he lives, to the time when Christ would actually walk on this earth and the reaction of the people of that time to Him. I find it interesting, though, that he is also describing perfectly the reaction of the people of our own day as well. As a society at large we still turn our faces away from Him and do not value Him or hold Him in high regard.


It is not too surprising that those who do not know the Lord would not value Him. The question is, do those who DO know Him, truly value Him? Do I? This is what has been haunting me today. Do I live in a way that demonstrates that I value Jesus and all that He has done for me? Do I really? How is this played out in my daily life? If I say that I am in relationship with Christ do my actions reflect that assertion?


I have a few close human relationships. In order to maintain them I must spend time with those people on a regualr basis. I must talk to them, sharing my experiences and my thoughts with them. I must also listen to them, sharing in their experiences and hearing their thoughts and opinions on things. I study them, learning the things that they like and don't like so that I can please them- giving them gifts that will bring them pleasure and steering clear of things that might hurt, offend, annoy or anger them. If I do something that wounds our relationship, I seek out their forgiveness and work to repair and restore the closeness that we had before. I think about them even when I am not with them and look forward to being with them again.


If I do these things with the humans in my life and if I value my relationship with Jesus, shouldn't I be doing these same kinds of things to build my relationship with Him?


Do I spend time with Him alone on a regular basis?

Do I talk to Him, sharing my life and my heart with Him?

Do I listen to Him?

Do I read His letters to me, learning more about Him and His likes and dislikes?

Do I strive to please Him?

Do I look for opportunities to give to Him?

Do I give regularly of my time, my talents and my resources?

Am I careful not to hurt, offend, annoy or anger Him?

If I do any of these things am I quick to seek His forgiveness and work to restore our closeness?

Do I think about Him even when I am not specifically spending time with Him?

Am I conscious of His presence with me every moment of every day?


Do I esteem Him, value Him and hold Him in high regard?

2 comments:

Rebecca said...

Great questions! I too, am really bothered about the 'we esteemed Him not,' it makes me sick in my stomach everytime I think of that, especially in relation to all the yrs prior of my life without the Lord and even speaking publicly out against Him...sick in my stomach again-lol!

The ONLY piece of that scripture I DO love, is the mere fact that it signifies, declares, resonates, and reveals the depths of God's love for us...knowing BEFOREHAND our reactions...and STILL giving us his son...these are the kind of revelations from the Lord that are a deep reminder to me of just how valuable and loved I truly am from Him....that once again it has nothing to do with me and my works, but his unconditional love.

Great questions to ponder, thanks!

Ally said...

I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately. That's so cool you wrote about it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts... It's interesting how you compare our human relationships and what we do to keep them up. Very thought provoking!
p.s. glad you are feeling better!