and obeys the word of his servant?
Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light,
trust in the name of the lord and rely on his God.
But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,
go, walk in the light of your fires
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:
You will lie down in torment.
- Isaiah 50.10-11
This is just a really neat passage that came to my attention recently. I love the imagery used: darkness and light. The darkness is our confused lives, where we are in our anxieties and stress and helplessness. The light is wisdom, and there is two types: 1) God's and 2) our own (or man's wisdom).
It's very simple, actually. We need light to see the way out of our depravity and hopeless helplessness. But the light we chose determines the path we walk. How? Simple. God's light comes from Him, and thus acts like the light at the end of a dark tunnel - it reveals the path to freedom. But light we make on our own is controlled by ourselves - it only illuminates the path of our choosing. It's like being lost in a cave with many tunnels, but one way out. If you light your own torch, and choose from the available paths yourself, the odds of you choosing the correct path on your own are very slim. Meanwhile, if you could turn out your light (let go of your wisdom) you would see a glimmer in the darkness, which would grow brighter the closer your approached. Before long you would find yourself in the brightness of day, and no longer lost in darkness.
But, you say, could I not find the correct path on my own? Rare might that occasion be, it could happen. But note the progression of the analogy. Let's say you did actually (through the favor of God, no doubt) choose the correct path. In the end, to fully enjoy the freedom of daylight, you'd have to relinquish your grip on your own torch, that man-made wisdom. In the end you must admit the inadequacy of your own light (and wisdom).
Let us look to God for our light, for our path. Let us strive after his wisdom, and count our own as foolishness.
It's very simple, actually. We need light to see the way out of our depravity and hopeless helplessness. But the light we chose determines the path we walk. How? Simple. God's light comes from Him, and thus acts like the light at the end of a dark tunnel - it reveals the path to freedom. But light we make on our own is controlled by ourselves - it only illuminates the path of our choosing. It's like being lost in a cave with many tunnels, but one way out. If you light your own torch, and choose from the available paths yourself, the odds of you choosing the correct path on your own are very slim. Meanwhile, if you could turn out your light (let go of your wisdom) you would see a glimmer in the darkness, which would grow brighter the closer your approached. Before long you would find yourself in the brightness of day, and no longer lost in darkness.
But, you say, could I not find the correct path on my own? Rare might that occasion be, it could happen. But note the progression of the analogy. Let's say you did actually (through the favor of God, no doubt) choose the correct path. In the end, to fully enjoy the freedom of daylight, you'd have to relinquish your grip on your own torch, that man-made wisdom. In the end you must admit the inadequacy of your own light (and wisdom).
Let us look to God for our light, for our path. Let us strive after his wisdom, and count our own as foolishness.
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