“When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord
Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame;
let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.”

This passage from Isa. 26 is a hard one to read.  In a culture where we are not only used to hearing about God’s grace as the highest hope of the church but hear it as the only message there is, this call for judgement is uncomfortable.  In fact, were it spoken in today’s church, it would be heard as heretical.  Grace portrayed as a lazy response that won’t teach anyone anything important?  How dare you!  The thought that judgement and the implied punishment are the better way doesn’t preach in a culture of “sloppy agape” and free grace.

But this wasn’t written in our culture, nor to it.  Sure, we think that the whole of scripture was written directly to us, never mind the last 2800 years.  But Isa was written for an oppressed people, a people headed for exile, and a very angry people.  And angry people want justice, judgement, and punishment for their oppressors.  We all want God’s grace until someone wrongs us, or wrongs someone we love, or wrongs someone far less powerful than they are.  Then we all agree with this sentiment and beg for God’s justice.

And in a practical sense, Isaiah’s cry is the more realistic.  A sloppy grace, one that forgives and forgets without holding to account, can be abused.  A righteous justice, one that holds to account, feels more… well… just.  We must remember that scripture portrays God as both gracious and just, both merciful and willing to punish.  We had better be willing to hold those views in tension as well.

The Apostle Paul had an incredible and envious outlook on life, the universe, and everything.  While many of us say that spreading the gospel is the most important thing in life, Paul actually believed it.  And the difference is not in how loud, or often, or scholastically we say it, but in how we live it.

Phil. 1 is a schooling on seeing the world through God’s eyes and putting Him first.  Paul begins with his famous statement that though he’s in chains, that is a good thing because it is advancing the gospel.  How many of us can truly say that our sickness is a good thing because it gives us access to the hospital staff for our witnessing?  How many can say that losing our job was a blessing because it has allowed us to speak to many different people we would otherwise have missed?  Paul calms the fears and worries of his hearers by saying that his imprisonment actually gives him an opening to witness.

His next paragraph addresses those who are preaching the gospel.  Some are doing it honestly, but some, Paul’s friends say, are doing it selfishly and therefore shouldn’t be doing it at all.  But, Paul says, the important thing is that the gospel is preached.  Will they reap the rewards God promises for the faithful?  Maybe not, but those who hear the gospel from un-credible sources are still hearing the gospel.

Paul finishes this statement with the ultimate sign of faith.  Even his death, Paul says, can be a blessing from God.  “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

What would it take for us to see the world through these eyes?  How can we help ourselves right now to see everything that happens as part of God’s plan, as a tool for our evangelism, and as a blessing in disguise?  As the song says, “What if God’s blessings come through raindrops?”  Not just a glass-half-full trickery, but  a genuine trust that all that happens is God’s plan and can be used to further the Kingdom.