Isaiah 1:18 (NIV) “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

When it is said that there is no god like our God, that doesn’t begin to come close to describing how far and above He is than anyone and anything we can imagine. There are no sufficient words to describe just one aspect of His character, which is the grace that He demonstrates. In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet begins by speaking the vision that he received from the Lord regarding the many things that the people of Jerusalem and Judah were doing that were drastically sinful and wrong. He even compared them with Sodom and Gomorrah. He told them that the Lord was fed up with their festivals and their sacrifices, which He considered meaningless. The people of Judah and Jerusalem had forsaken the Lord even after many warnings. It looked like they had reached the end of the line concerning God’s grace. This time they had gone too far! Or had they? Not according to the verse of scripture above.

After all their rebellion and all the sins that they had committed and continued to commit, the Lord offered to cleanse them from all the dark, crimson stains that they had tainted themselves with. He talked to them with an astounding amount of patience that went beyond what they deserved. He offered to “settle” things with them. He made them an offer that they should not have been offered. As sinful people who ignored His commands and continued full throttle with their sin and rebellion, they should have been destroyed. But the Lord offered to cleanse and restore them instead. How do you even begin to explain that kind of mercy and grace? It is a wonder to read the account of the amazing grace of God!

But better than reading about it is experiencing God’s grace for yourself. Everyone reading this devotional, including the writer, is guilty of sin and rebellion at one time or another. The Word of God tells us that there is no one who has not sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We all have ugly skeletons in our closet and if it weren’t for that same grace that the Lord offered to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, we would be in a lot of trouble. But there was a day when the Lord said to you and me, “Come, let us settle the matter. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” We found out that the way that the Lord settles the matter is by washing us with the blood of Jesus and then loving us and showering us with His grace when we repent and turn back to Him. I didn’t get what I deserved when I went astray. Did you? Our God is an indescribable God who lavishes us with unbelievable grace when we turn to Him. Let’s love and serve Him with all our hearts as our offering of thanksgiving and praise for that amazing grace!

Pastor Joey Vazquez