Like a Magnet
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. … [The people] shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. – Isaiah 2:1-5 (NRSV)
Isaiah shares a vision of the entire world walking in the ways of God. It is a vision where the God of Israel is the God of all nations, and the holy mountain is the seat of all authority. How could such a thing occur? Would it be by force or arms, by force of law?
No, it would be by force of attraction.
The nations would be so smitten by the beauty of the faith that they would stream to learn of it. The people would be so won over by the grace of the law that they would seek to be bound up by it.
The power of the Lord is not something that reaches out and strikes another. It is a power that welcomes in and invites all. The faith should work like a magnet and not like a sword.
The power of this vision is much needed today. The temptation to try to force truth on another is always before us. Swords and spears abound. The faithful must take a higher way.
Prayer
God, help us be your magnets, sharing your love so beautifully that the world comes near to you.
About the AuthorRev. John Edgerton is Senior Minister and CEO of Old South Church in Boston. He is the 21st Senior minister in the congregation’s over 350 year history.