Tuesday, February 07, 2012

A Thought


“If you will return, O Israel”, says the Lord, “return to Me; and if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be moved.  And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives’.  In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, the nations shall bless themselves in the Lord, and in the Lord they shall glory.”  Jeremiah 4:1-2

Like every other chapter and verse written in Scripture, this passage requires earnest engagement and not simply reading the words on the page.  The Lord’s love is steadfast, but His blessing is conditional upon His people to “put away your abominations”.  Though there is no list of specific “abominations” in the immediate context, they are all contained in the Law of Moses and summarized in one word: adultery.  It is Israel betraying the True God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt and gave to them the Promised Land as a witness to all the nations.  Rather than make the most of all they had been given to use toward Divine purpose, they took the Lord’s favor and blessing for granted, and used what they had only for themselves.  Rather than using all they had as means to give the Lord His due glory, all they had became ends themselves – and Israel fell into Exile.

We are compelled to consider all the Lord has entrusted to our care and decide how we use all we have been given.  Do we believe they are given to us personally – OR – do we believe these things have been entrusted to our care for a much greater purpose?  It is not always an easy question to answer, but answer it we must … truthfully.  For the Lord already knows the answer.

Blessings,
Michael

No comments: