"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Feeling it was perhaps just a little too good to be true, I became suspicious and decided to read it in context. And like Inigo in The Princess Bride, I began to say, "I don't think those words mean what you think they mean". These weren't words spoken from God to me; they were words given to the exiled children of Israel to give them hope that God was really working, really aware of their situation while they were in captivity in Babylon. Since I'm not Jewish and certainly not in captivity in Babylon, these were simply nice words, a handy feel-good-cliche. They weren't a real promise of God for me. They were used in so many contexts and with such flipancy that they just seemed empty. It became one of those verses that I simply blew off when I heard it.
I've been exploring Jeremiah again recently and I find it isn't exactly a fun read. It's just a little repetitive: all the woes to Israel for disobeying God. But one verse, right near the beginning caught my attention:
They've spread lies about God. They've said, "There's nothing to him. Nothing bad will happen to us, neither famine nor war will come our way." The prophets are all windbags. They speak nothing but nonsence. Jer. 5:12-13 The Message
It made me think- when is the last time you heard anyone say that God is someone to be feared? That he's someone who will deal with sin and disobedience? Sure, church goers may hear it from the pulpit but for everyone else- all the non-believers- when do you hear someone telling them that God is a God who must be feared? They don't go to church. They don't hear the preacher from the pulpit. They work with us, live next door to us, cut our hair, and administrate our companies. And we are the ones they "hear" from.
We are their preachers and what we preach is tolerance.
We preach, "your thing is ok with me as long as you don't tell me I can't do my thing."
"Let me go to church on Sundays in peace. I won't judge you, you don't judge me."
"Let's all live side by side in blissful disobedience!"
We preach lies about God- that there's nothing to Him. Because if He is who we say we believe He is, then there is something to him and our disobedience and ignorance of Him must be and will be dealt with. And ignoring Him won't make Him go away. The Israelites tried it- read Jeremiah to see where it landed them!
Almost the entire book of Jeremiah deals with how Israel will be punished for ignoring her God. And the harshest discipline is saved for the "windbag prophets" who have allowed her to go astray. Funny, but I believe that we, as a nation, are not so very different than the Israelites. And unfortunately, I believe I may know and may even be one of those "windbag prophets"!
As a nation, we have turned from serving God to serving economics. Our lives revolve around our jobs, careers, spending, and making money. Our families suffer, our health suffers, and in turn, we have less time to spend in pursuit of God. In effect, we, like Israel, have chosen to serve a foreign god and God in turn has placed us in exile where we must continue to serve the foreigners who worship that foreign god. (Jeremiah 5:18-19)
God told the Israelites to not give up hope though. They were to continue living. They were to marry, have children, work and be productive. And they were to pray for the Babylonians (see Jeremiah 29). He had a plan for them. A plan for them to prosper. He wasn't going to ignore them in their captivity. He was going to come and rescue them. They were to remember this, find hope in this knowledge. He was a God to be dealt with and He was a God with a plan.
So maybe I can take some hope from the overused cliche of Jeremiah 29:11. But first I have to realize that my "preaching" speaks loudly to my neighbors. God is a God who must be dealt with. There's a lot more to him than feel-good cliches. When I turn my back on the foreign gods in my life and seek Him with all my heart, He promises to be found. When I get serious about finding Him and want it more than anything else, He'll make sure I'm not disappointed (Jeremiah 29:12-14). And He'll do the same for the our neighbors and captors- if we'll only let them know the Truth.
4 comments:
I struggle with this constantly. Does allowing them to go astray mean not pointing them in the right direction or does it mean not standing at the fork in the road shouting at those who have gone astray? It seems these are the two extreme camps, but the problem with the one is that they rarely point to the right road - they only point out the wrong road.
To me it seems that we should approach differently those who have gone astray and those who have never been on the right road. Jesus was harsh in pointing out the straying of the religious people, but very gentle and positive in pointing to the right road for the lost. This is also the scenario of Jeremiah. But our culture of Christendom squelches this in the name of Evangelical Unity, but treats harshly those who aren't yet among us.
wow mom. that was pretty deep. oh sorry mom this is will. not molly. I really liked that. I don't think you are ALL windbag profet though. Only a little. Maybe not even that much. But I don't think that ANYONE has ALL the concepts right.
Thank you thats a lot to think about. Your right we get caught up in our jobs and spending money. In my case making money to pay my kids college. I work 6 to 7 days a week. I miss going to church. And I know I'm not doing my part in showing the way to Christ to neighbors or people I meet in everyday life. I have enjoyed reading your blog. I have also enjoyed reading your kids blog.
Beth
Much to think about. Thanks! Great blog.
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