I just finished reading the story of Gideon. It's full of human nature mixed with God's power. But the book of Judges is making me mad. God delivers Israel over and over again. And they keep whoring after other gods; after wood and stone and metal. After Satan.
They never deserve the deliverance God gives them. And they always forget about it, almost immediately.
I'm so mad about it.
But it's so true. It's so true of the human heart. God is so good to us. And we forget. We whore after other gods. And he waits, patiently. Then we get overtaken, and cry out to him for help. And he delivers us. We say thanks and feel great, then go whoring again. The cycle goes on.
That's why this concept of remembering what God has done is all over the Old Testament. That's how we escape the cycle of Judges. When things are great we remember who is our Deliverer. When things are terrible we remember who is our Deliverer.
We write it on our faces and on the doorposts of our houses so we don't forget. We talk about it when we're at home and when we're out, when we lie down and when we get up. We bind the words on our fingers and around our necks. We write them on the tablets of our hearts. We find the words and we eat them. We eat the scroll. We eat his body. We drink his blood. It's our only alternative to whoring.
2 comments:
Something can be learned from the behavioral response of new Christians...they are usually 'on fire' for God; usually, there is a period of true repentance from one or several areas of 'whoring'.
It is also typical that the largest 'acts' of repentance takes place around this time.
This seems consistent with the concept that grace leads unto repentance: the gift of the Spirit and the personal acceptance of the LORD through His Blood is the ultimate in grace.
But repentance is usually a process, not a one-time deal...so, while 'whoring' can lead to holy remorse through conviction, we should continually seek His grace...not just the grace of forgiveness, but all aspects of His grace: continually pursue the blessings and promises God has for us (both the general and specific)...seek the personalized treasures along the customized walk...this will also keep us from 'whoring' after the fools gold.
And when (!) we fall, get up, rub the stinging crud out of your eyes, and gaze once again toward His grace. Your feet will follow.
Good word.
Post a Comment