Jeremiah 3 can be a little rough. Maybe I’m the only one who struggles relating to the characters in this story. But, I’m going to jump out on a limb and suggest that most of us have never become harlots. I do, however, relate on a very basic human level, and, I would venture to say that we all struggle with faithlessness and falseness.
We all have a past. We
all have a present. We have our own struggles, personal demons, sins, which
cripple us to varying degrees – that keep up from living a full life of peace.
In John 5, Jesus comes across a crippled man and asks him,
“Do you want to be made well?” (v. 6) That may seem like an unnecessary
question which would receive an obvious “Yes!”, but there have been times in my
life when I wasn’t quite ready to make the changes needed to be made well. There
can be a subconscious satisfaction with the status quo. And devoting my life to
following the examples of Jesus Christ is hard. I am confronted daily with the
need for grace, the need to say “Yes!” to God and “No!” to my status quo.
So how do we do it? How do we change the ways that are so
much a part of who we are in order to live a life more fully for God. In
Jeremiah 3:15, God tells us, “I will give
you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and
understanding.”
God will provide shepherd’s after God’s own heart. People
who will show you and me the way. How AWESOME is that!?! I find some much
needed comfort in knowing that I’m not going through this alone – this everyday thing
we call life.
Where do you find your comfort? Knowing Jesus invites us to
being made whole? Knowing God will provide the shepherds to lead us down the
right paths?
For me it means that I seek comfort in the knowledge that
God is not through with me yet. Not a day goes by when God is not at work –
even on my days of rest. But Jesus
answered them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” (John
5:17)Kat Kaden, Media Resources Manager, Rotunda Board Chair, Chancel Choir and UrbanLife member
