What does this mean to Christians?

[PJM]

What does this mean to Christians?

Does it have a different meaning / translation for RCC’s?

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.** 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. **

God bless,

PJM m.c.

 

[COPLAND_3]

Here is St. John Cassian [Conferences 13.17]…

God brings salvation to mankind in diverse and innumerable methods and inscrutable ways, and that He stirs up the course of some, who are already wanting it, and thirsting for it, to greater zeal, while He forces some even against their will, and resisting. And that at one time He gives his assistance for the fulfilment of those things which he sees that we desire for our good, while at another time He puts into us the very beginnings of holy desire, and grants both the commencement of a good work and perseverance in it…Finally the blessed Apostle when revolving in his mind this manifold bounty of God’s providence, as he sees that he has fallen into some vast and boundless ocean of God’s goodness, exclaims: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are the judgments of God and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Romans 11:33-34 Whoever then imagines that he can by human reason fathom the depths of that inconceivable abyss, will be trying to explain away the astonishment at that knowledge, at which that great and mighty teacher of the gentiles was awed. For if a man thinks that he can either conceive in his mind or discuss exhaustively the dispensation of God whereby He works salvation in men, he certainly impugns the truth of the Apostle’s words and asserts with profane audacity that His judgments can be scrutinized, and His ways searched out. This providence and love of God therefore, which the Lord in His unwearied goodness vouchsafes to show us, He compares to the tenderest heart of a kind mother, as He wishes to express it by a figure of human affection, and finds in His creatures no such feeling of love, to which he could better compare it. And He uses this example, because nothing dearer can be found in human nature, saying: Can a mother forget her child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? But not content with this comparison He at once goes beyond it, and subjoins these words: And though she may forget, yet will not I forget you. Isaiah 49:15

 

[Nita]

What does this mean to Christians?

Does it have a different meaning / translation for RCC’s?

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.** 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. **

God bless,

PJM m.c.

I think most Christians (Catholic and Protestant) understand the passage in the same way. At least I haven’t heard any Protestant interpretation or use of the passage in a way that would conflict with Catholic teaching. Have you?

 

[PJM]

Here is St. John Cassian [Conferences 13.17]…

God brings salvation to mankind in diverse and innumerable methods and inscrutable ways, and that He stirs up the course of some, who are already wanting it, and thirsting for it, to greater zeal, **while He forces some even against their will, and resisting. **And that at one time He gives his assistance for the fulfilment of those things which he sees that we desire for our good, while at another time He puts into us the very beginnings of holy desire, and grants both the commencement of a good work and perseverance in it…Finally the blessed Apostle when revolving in his mind this manifold bounty of God’s providence, as he sees that he has fallen into some vast and boundless ocean of God’s goodness, exclaims: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are the judgments of God and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Romans 11:33-34 Whoever then imagines that he can by human reason fathom the depths of that inconceivable abyss, will be trying to explain away the astonishment at that knowledge, at which that great and mighty teacher of the gentiles was awed. For if a man thinks that he can either conceive in his mind or discuss exhaustively the dispensation of God whereby He works salvation in men, he certainly impugns the truth of the Apostle’s words and asserts with profane audacity that His judgments can be scrutinized, and His ways searched out. This providence and love of God therefore, which the Lord in His unwearied goodness vouchsafes to show us, He compares to the tenderest heart of a kind mother, as He wishes to express it by a figure of human affection, and finds in His creatures no such feeling of love, to which he could better compare it. And He uses this example, because nothing dearer can be found in human nature, saying: Can a mother forget her child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? But not content with this comparison He at once goes beyond it, and subjoins these words: And though she may forget, yet will not I forget you. Isaiah 49:15

A beautiful post, thank you:thumbsup:

However I wonder if even God will force someone to “repent and convert” if they choose not too:shrug:

If God **would **(no doubt that God Could) do this, then why bother giveing us a freewill and intellect?

God bless,

PJM m.c.

 

[JRKH]

What does this mean to Christians?

Does it have a different meaning / translation for RCC’s?

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.** 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. **

God bless,

PJM m.c.

I don’t know about any official teaching but I can give you my thoughts on the passage. The passage is obviously a call for a return to holiness, which we are all called to. The portion you highlighted seems to me to be telling us to avoid trying to understand God, or to think that God cannot forgive us if we truly repent.

On a similar note, like that passage because it really points up the futility of some of the theology that gets debated on these forums. By that I mean things like Predestination and OSAS, or the actual timeframe and method of creation. These things are for God to deal with and we cannot understand them. To make them a point of contention only divides us and distracts us from our primary mission of growing in holiness before the Lord.

Just a couple of cents worth.

Peace
James

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

What does this mean to Christians?

Does it have a different meaning / translation for RCC’s?

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.** 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. **

God bless,

PJM m.c.

That passage is as valid for those of us who are Catholics as for any other Christian group.​

 

[PJM]

I don’t know about any official teaching but I can give you my thoughts on the passage. The passage is obviously a call for a return to holiness, which we are all called to. The portion you highlighted seems to me to be telling us to avoid trying to understand God, or to think that God cannot forgive us if we truly repent.

On a similar note, like that passage because it really points up the futility of some of the theology that gets debated on these forums. By that I mean things like Predestination and OSAS, or the actual timeframe and method of creation. These things are for God to deal with and we cannot understand them. To make them a point of contention only divides us and distracts us from our primary mission of growing in holiness before the Lord.

Just a couple of cents worth.

Peace
James

Great post:thumbsup:

Does this passage at least suggest that we are not going to be able to fully understand everything in the bible and everything that we believe; for example the Trinity or the Real presence?

God bless,

PJM m.c.

 

[tobinatorstark]

From the Haydock Bible Commentary

Ver. 6. Near. He will shortly (Calmet) turn to the Gentiles, John xii. 35., and Acts xiii. 46. (Haydock)
Ver. 7. Way. This is a necessary preliminary to God’s service. (Worthington)

Ver. 8. My ways. I am not vindictive, but require a sincere conversion. (Calmet) — We cannot serve both God and the world. We must therefore adhere to the former. (Worthington)

Ver. 35. Yet a little while,[2] that is, for a very few days, I, who am the light of the world, am with you. (Witham) — How much do the Jews now do, and yet they know not what they do: but like men that are walking in the dark, they think they are in the right way, when alas! they are quite the contrary. (St. Chrysostom, hom. lxvi. in Joan.)

 

[JRKH]

Great post:thumbsup:

Does this passage at least suggest that we are not going to be able to fully understand everything in the bible and everything that we believe; for example the Trinity or the Real presence?

God bless,

PJM m.c.

Well truly we cannot fully understand things such as the Trinity or the Real Presence.
As for ever understanding everything in The Bible, I would not wish to equate understanding God’s mind with understanding what is in The Bible. God’s mind is so infinite and beyond us that no book, no matter how large could ever contain it. Plus there is no written language known to man that is capable of completely and clearly communicating God’s thoughts to us. This is why Christ works directly with us through the Holy Spirit and The Church.
The Bible does contain much that God wishes for us to know. However the Bible is also a static item an incapable of imparting true understanding of what God wishes for each of us in particular. It is the Holy Spirit working in us and working through Christ’s Church that gives us the understandings that we truly need.

Peace
James

 

[Benadam]

PJM;4616768. What does this mean to Christians?

Does it have a different meaning / translation for RCC’s?

I’m Catholic and the Church doesn’t micro-enterpret scripture so for this passage distinguishing a Catholic from a Protestant enterpretation would require some reading between the lines.

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;

Reading this I hear echoed, “This is the day of salvation” “Walk while it is still day” The prophet is telling us that now is the time and that it’s possible to be too late. Something that is often taught in the NT and almost seems odd in the OT. Isiaah seems to be way ahead of his time almost speaking as if Christ is on earth.

7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

This seems to be a call to set aside the fears that keep us apart from God. For instance, that we are a burden to God when we need forgiven. That the higher our pile of sins the more a burden it is for God to forgive.

****8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ****

***That the thoughts that make us keep our distance from God are not the way God thinks. That the way we think about someone who sins against us isn’t the way God thinks. ***

This passage just hints at the paradoxical I think.