There Is — And Should Be — No Other
For thus says the Lord,
The creator of the heavens,
who is God,
The designer and maker of the earth
who established it,
Not creating it to be a waste,
but designing it be lived in:
I am the Lord, and there is no other. (Is 45:18)
At today’s Mass, we are presented with a long reading from Isaiah which, in effect, repeats the thought: “I am the Lord, there is no other.” Isaiah recounts how it is God who created the world, sustains it, and watches over it. It is God who rules over all. It is God who shapes the days and who gives victory to peoples.
It is God.
And yet, there are many times that people seem to forget that very basic fact. They forget, or ignore, that God is the one in charge because He is the one who made everything. They forget, or ignore, that God has given us all a law under which to live. They forget, or ignore, that we must live as loyal subjects and not as gods ourselves.
This might not be anything new to you. You might have noticed this among people you know. You might have seen how some people struggle against God’s will and how some people do all that they can to assert their own will.
This might, on the other hand, be a wake-up call to you. As the Advent season progresses and we continue to hear “Prepare His way, make straight His paths”, maybe you might realize that you have tried a bit too hard to assert your will on God rather than accept the Lord’s will for you.
Did we create ourselves? Did we bring the sun up this day? Did we fling the stars in the sky? Do we have dominion over all the earth?
I think not.
It is the Lord. There is no just and saving God than He.
FAITH ACTION: Ask God to reveal to you the times that you assert yourself rather than accept His rule. Then, ask for the grace to turn yourself over more completely to Him.