Why do we whore ourself to God for temporary thrills and chills like HE is some kinda of Friday Night fling in the back seat of a car all the while HE wants a holy marriage covenant with us as His chosen people? We settle for temporary forms of Godliness but deny it's power (2 Timothy 3:5). We choose religious activity over personal relationship. The difference between the two is monumental. A religion will only change your schedule (i.e.... your Sundays and Wednesdays). A genuine relationship with God will change your lifestyle!
This morning I was reading in the book of Hosea! Wow! These words pierce my heart as part of the church. The Old Testament has so much richness to it! Far too often we neglect the treasure of these pages. However, a proper view of the Old Testament gives us roots to accept, believe, and live out the New Testament. They are all together inseperable! I hope that you find yourself loving both! It's about context here! Remember that from Genesis to Revelation, the story is all about God redeeming mankind to Himself through Jesus Christ! I bounced off track.... Oops! Hosea was instructed by God to marry a prostitute as a symbol of God's desire to show both mercy and grace to the spiritually adulterous nation of Israel. Hosea was a doomsday prophet! He preached in the final days leading up to Assyria's conquest of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 721 BC. This knowledge helps us in retrospect. You know the outcome here. The whoring nation of Israel didn't repent. They didn't return to God. They continued to chase their own desires and devalue God's! Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (as in the days of the Judges). Yet, God pleaded. Hosea, as a symbol again, even went and purchased Gomer (the prostitute) wife back after she had been unfaithful the first time. I got a feeling this wasn't a one time offense either! Imagine having to go buy back your wife that the whole town knew was immoral, vile, offensive, and sinful!
We are all a culture of Gomers. We like to whore ourselves to our titles, our jobs, our money, our reputation, our hobbies, etc. It's called spiritual adultery! When something takes the place of God as foremost passion and authority in our life, it becomes a god! The church is full of them. In fact, sometimes "the church" becomes a god because the leadership places more importance on the reputation of the church and the "seeker sensitivity" of the environment than we place on preaching and teaching Christ crucified, the vileness of sin, the beauty of grace, and the expectations of God! We make church about us and not about God! Oh, but it has to be about God! If God is not exalted supreme in your church than you don't have a church. You have a social club, society of redeemed people that have forgotten their role as Salt and Light in the world! Go radically rescued people and radically rescue the lost and dying people in the world that need Jesus Christ! Rescue the perishing, care for the dying. Jesus is merciful and Jesus will save!
A friend of mine named Turner Ward once said, "Whatever is your passion will become your god!" Is Yahweh God of the Universe, the Alpha and Omega, the Creator your passion? If so, don't whore yourself to anything else this world has to offer! I remind you of Paul's words in Romans 12...
Do not be conformed by the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
We are not conformist but God's chosen plan of transformational Christianity! Go live that truth!
No comments:
Post a Comment