Thoughts for another day

Dec. 17, 2012.

Today's verse: Hos. 10:1. Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. (KJV)

(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

When you read the above Scripture, you realise how strangely we act before our God:  the more He blesses, the more we move away from Him; the more we take recourse to inane things and meddle with that which don't matter.  And in the process, move away from Him who blessed us in the first place!  I recall people of Judah telling Jeremiah, Jer. 44:16-18, 'We'll not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD? We'll certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.'   Of course, Jeremiah reminds them that because they've been worshiping idols, they've come to such a situation; but they're so blinded by the sheer stupidity clouding their minds, that sanity wouldn't enter.

This sounds very weird to my ears because I feel they knew about the situation and they would be urged to change when someone pointed it out to them; but not so, not so at all.  Rather they defied the man of God saying 'because we stopped worshipping idols we're miserable!'  I'd love to consider them abjectly foolish, but then I pause a moment and look at us today, particularly me; the more I hear what God wants us to do, the more I go against it.  The more God points out a thing as wrong, the more I feel its right and the more is the urge within me to go for it.  This innate stubbornness is very troubling and painful.  But I know that if we can think so much, God will provide a way out and change us to become beautiful petals of His Rose Garden, bringing Him sweet fragrance.  And remember, it's not by our effort that we can shun wrong before God but only by His Grace can we be right before Him.