Charlie Brown on Isaiah 6

This is an iconic Peanuts scene. Lucy holding the ball out for Charlie Brown who, despite his better judgement, holds out some hope that Lucy will finally let him kick the football. And of course, Lucy doesn't and again yanks the ball away sending Charlie skyward and downward. This is one is my particular favorite because of Chuck Schulz' use of scripture and great analogy to life. I am not sure he is going to take it as far as I do, but thanks anyway Chuck!

By now I'm sure you read the comic. Its great. Charlie quotes Isaiah 6:11 out of his frustration of having to trust Lucy yet again to hold the ball firm. To really get this comic, let me give you some context. In Isaiah 6:9-10, God has just finished commissioning Isaiah to preach the message of discipline to the Jews . Here is what was said:

He said, “Go and tell these people: ‘Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’10 Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind! Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”

This is what is going on: God is telling Isaiah that he is to go preach to a hard-hearted, stubborn group that will not hear him. They will listen continually but never understand. They will see Isaiah's object lessons and actions and not understand. Their hearts will become harder and harder and their ears will not hear and their eyes will fail to see the truth of what Isaiah was preaching. Basically, God is telling Isaiah that he is going to preach for probably the rest of his life and has a God-given guarantee that no one will listen- and that is by design. Talk about a commission! I'm not sure I would be super happy about that charge.

Charlie's response to Lucy about holding the football is the same as Isaiah in 6:11-12, " I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, 12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place,and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned." As it would have been for us- what God was asking seemed too much for Isaiah. So he cried out in his misery- How long, sovereign master? To which God said, you are going to preach this unheard and unseen message until all the cities are in runin, the people are gone, the homes are uninhabited, and there is nothing left in the land- it will be a complete wreck. That is when you can stop preaching. Again, talk about a calling!

Now you can see how Charlie and Lucy kind of relate to this passage. The scene with the football was on ongoing struggle for Charlie. No matter how hard he tried, Lucy would always pull the football away. You know what though, Charlie always had a choice in the matter. Lucy was never forcing him to run after that football, risking yet another failure. The same goes for Isaiah, actually. God did commission Isaiah and sent a seraph with a hot coal to touch his lips and cleanse his sins (this is a topic for another day). But as Isaiah 6:8 says, Isaiah volunteered for the mission. So both Isaiah and Charlie were voluntary participants. Not only was their job essentially the same- keep doing something over and over again with the knowledge that the result would be the same- more suffering, but the duration was the same. Charlie asks, "How long, O Lord?" To which Lucy replies, "all your life Charlie, all your life." And that is essentially the message of Isaiah 6 here. Isaiah accepted the call of God in his life. After accepting it- God notified him of his charge- you will be a preacher that won't teach anyone anything. No one will listen, no one will hear, no one will see- and you will do this until the cities lie in ruin. Until the people are gone and until the nation is ravaged- you will see no fruits in your lifetime.

Although Peanuts can only take us so far- it is a cute idea that does relate to this passage sort of. It does still have application for us. Jesus Christ has called us for a purpose- to preach the Gospel, and in so doing, to glorify God. But just like Charlie, there is no guarantee of success. The world is like Lucy- just sitting there nicely holding the football out for us to kick. But just at the last moment, it whips the ball away and we fall flat on our faces, again, and again, and again. This is also the mission of Isaiah- go no matter what- obey and preach, although you "know" no one will hear. What Isaiah didn't know was that his part was just a small piece in God's larger plan- a plan that went all the way to the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, and His life, death, and resurrection on the cross centuries later.

The same goes for our life. Sometimes we can feel like we have the same mission of Isaiah. That we preach and preach but no one is listening and no one cares. I often think of the story of William Carey- the father of modern missions. Carey risked everything to go to India to share the gospel. He lost his family and his wife. In his lifetime he faced countless trials and suffered tremendously. All the while he never saw 1 man come to faith in Jesus Christ. But after Carey died, Christianity took off in India and grew exponentially. As a result, Christianity is a major faith group in India.

There are thousands of stories just like this. It could be your story. My point today is this. The calling of Christ is often a call to suffer, to risk your life for the sake of His. How long? Maybe all your life. This is a hard call and you may never see the fruit of your ministry- you, like Isaiah, may go your whole life falling flat on your face for God. But you will be rewarded. God promises that the world will hate you because it first hated Christ, so be prepared. But also be armed with the knowledge that all things happen according to God's plan and glory. Your suffering is for God's glory and your reward will be oh so sweet in eternity.

Isaiah 6:8 is still calling out to us today: 8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!” God is still calling and still asking for our response. Even though you have no guarantee of success and comfort- Respond Today!

PJ