“In that day—-“Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire. Or else let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.””
In the movie The Godfather, Marlin Brando plays the role of a powerful mob boss, the head of the Corleone Family. As you watch the movie, you get to see Brando play out the part of the Godfather as a mob boss who gives no quarter but you also get to see his character play the role of father and grandfather. The phrase “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse” is still stuck in my head. You did not see Brando bending to make peace but rather, you saw everyone else making peace with The Godfather.
As Christians, we do not have a Godfather figure who rules with the same kind of rules as mob bosses did, thank heaven. We do see, however, the character of God, the father, all throughout the Bible. In the verses above from Isaiah, we get to see just how the Lord God looks at his creation and how he cares for it. He says He watches over it and waters it continually. He guards it day and night and protects it from any harm. He even declares that He is not angry.
Some of you need to understand that the Lord is not angry. He does not sit on his throne of heaven and sit around dreaming up ways to punish us. He loved us so much that sent Christ to die for our sins.
One more character of the Lord you must understand is that He will fight for you. Isaiah also says later that He goes before us and levels the mountains (Isaiah 45:2) and in the verse above He declares he will fight against anything that is positioned to harm His vineyard (us).
The last character of the Lord shown in the verses above is His compassion. Psalm 103:8 says “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” We often go around living our lives, going to work or doing afterwork things without recognizing the Lord. I am not advocating that we must stop and pray every 10 minutes on our knees, but I am saying that we can become good at living life while ignoring the Lord. If we don’t watch how we live our lives we can find ourselves in compromising positions that are obtuse with way the Lord would have us be, i.e. becoming briers in the vineyard.
If you are not making peace with the Lord because your view of Him as a mob boss that punishes those who are against him then read the last lines of the verse above. “Or else let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.” Some of you need to make peace with the Lord God above and invite Him into your life, not just as the co-pilot but as the pilot. You have to give Him the wheel and cast your worldly crowns at His feet.
Ephesians 2:13-15 says it best, “13 But now you belong to Christ Jesus. At one time you were far away from God. Now you have been brought close to Him. Christ did this for you when He gave His blood on the cross. 14 We have peace because of Christ. He has made the Jews and those who are not Jews one people. He broke down the wall that divided them. 15 He stopped the fighting between them by His death on the cross. He put an end to the Law. Then He made of the two people one new kind of people like Himself. In this way, He made peace.”
It is time you broke down the walls you have put up that paints God as some benevolent spiritual being bent on punishing us for our sins. Jesus even says Matthew 11:28-30 that wants everyone who is burdened and weary to come to Him and He will give you rest. It is time!
Prayer: Father, today, help us to make peace with you in all we do. Help us understand that we are your vineyard that you are protecting and watering so we can produce the things in our lives that draw others to Christ. In Jesus name, amen.
Let It Go 
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