The next time somebody says or implies that God is not loving, please remember to share Jeremiah 3:19-20 with them.
My heart was deeply touched this morning when I read of how God was feeling when He inspired the prophet to write these words:
“I myself said, ‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, house of Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD.'”
I don’t know about you, but the statement “I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me” just melted my heart.
Perhaps it’s because I have a profound appreciation for being a Daddy. Or perhaps it’s because I can just see the pain in God’s face as He was speaking these words to Jeremiah’s spirit.
We’ve all known people who poured their heart and soul into their kids, only to see those entitlement-thinking kids exploit that love in order to pursue selfish gain.
The same has happened, of course, with too many failed marriages when one of the spouses decided to chase what initially appeared to be greener grass.
The emotional pain felt by the wounded above has been horrendous.
Yet, to some extent, we’ve all caused pain for God because we’ve all turned away from Him when we’ve all sinned.
I realize that the words I write each weekday morning have no power to keep you from sinning and certainly have no power to cleanse you of your sin.
I do pray, however, that these weekday words will prompt you to think more about how God views your life and about how His heart is feeling about your life.
He longs to hear you say “Father” and to see you following His leading rather than wandering after the loose-lipped lies of the Devil.
Please, whatever you do today, whether in word or in deed, do it all for the glory of the Father.
That way, you’ll live out the Colossians 3:17 formula for making your Father happy.
As always, I love you
Martin
