“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord . “ Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the best of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Isaiah 1:18‭-‬20 AMP

The book of Isaiah was written in the time previous to ancient Israel’s fall. God’s requirements do not change. This is what He says to us today. Will we listen? Or will we stubbornly insist on our own way, as many of them did, and suffered the consequences?Read the first chapter of the book and hear God’s disgust with “business as usual”. People who want His love and pretend to worship Him, but ignore His holiness. Sound familiar? God makes clear that what He is looking for is real repentance from the heart. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it, and anyone can do it.Since the time when this book was written, Jesus has inserted Himself into human history. He came as a baby, just as any of us. But He wasn’t just any baby, being the one and only Son of God.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

John 1:10‭-‬12 NLT

He was the Sacrifice, come to pay a debt He didn’t owe when we owed a debt we couldn’t pay. When we willingly receive God’s remedy for our sin that separates us from Him, He puts the robe of righteousness on us, and the family insignia is ours.

In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story:

“A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’

So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.

About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.

He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!

I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. “

“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

Luke 15:10‭-‬24 NLT

Does the Father wait to see you coming? What is keeping you from Him? Is it worth risking eternity for?