Undiluted

Undiluted

“Your silver has become dross, your

choice wine is diluted with water.”

                                  Isaiah 1:22

A well-known ploy by unscrupulous shopkeepers has often been to water down the wine or drink being served in an attempt to make it go farther and reap a greater profit. The result was a diluted product not worth the price being paid, not representing the quality or true value of the product involved. From orange juice served with breakfast to the maple syrup we use on our waffles, the diluting of something we enjoy still goes on today.

From that practice, a phrase has arisen “watering down the wine” that is used in many applications: a political position may be watered down to make it more acceptable to the voting public, a teaching may be watered down to make it easier to grasp, and standards are too often watered down to avoid controversy, trouble, and rejection. Many have said that, in our day, even the gospel is being watered down to make it more palatable to others, easier to respond to, and less offensive to those not wanting to follow the demands of the narrow road.

And so when God spoke through Isaiah the words, “your choice wine is diluted with water,” the message was pretty clear. What God had intended for them to enjoy was being watered down by compromise and self-serving interests that denied much of what God had desired for their lives. In our day, the purity of the joy God offers His children has been watered down to now take into account circumstances that affect our every mood and attitude. The peace that passes all understanding has been diluted by our need to be in control, and standards of holiness, that are so precious to God, have been watered down by the excuse “everyone else is doing it.” The list of watered down areas of Christian life unfortunately includes so much more.

And while we may settle for less than God’s best at the breakfast table, we have to seriously consider if anything is worth forfeiting “the choice vine” that God has promised to those who walk in His ways. Maybe it’s time to hold out for something better in your life, for a version of God’s blessing and favor that, no matter the cost, is undiluted and pure, strong and alive. If the cost is faithfulness in everything from giving  to your job to your marriage, God’s best is more than worth it. If the price is honesty, sacrifice or perseverance, the reward will so far exceed what God asks as to not compare. Begin today to hold out for a Christianity and a faith that is strong, vibrant and powerful, a faith worth following, you’ll be glad you did.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church