“Seek the LORD while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6–7, NKJV)

It amazes me how patient God is with people. Sometimes I wonder why God puts up so long with people who are obstinate and disobedient. But then I remember how much God has put up with me, and I am thankful that He is so longsuffering. God waits so that He may be gracious to us.

In Isaiah 55, the call goes out for all who are thirsty to come and buy wine and milk without money. God freely provides the only thing that will quench our spiritual thirst. Wine and milk are figurative for the living water that Jesus alone gives.

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13–14, NKJV)

We are still living in the age of grace where God is not counting our sins against us. Instead, He calls us to seek Him while He may be found and to call upon Him while He is near. The Gospel requires repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). This means that the wicked person must forsake his wicked way, the sinner must turn from his sinful thoughts, and he must return to the LORD—not in hypocrisy or pretense, but in truth. Then God will have mercy on him and abundantly pardon him. But if he insists that he has done nothing wrong or refuses to come to Jesus in humility and true repentance, then he will die in his trespasses and sins and be eternally separated from God.

The clock is ticking; the sun will soon set on the day of salvation. Are we still wallowing in our sins? Or have we received God’s abundant pardon?