Pray:
Lord, when You are seeking one to walk in Your ways, may You find what You are looking for in me.
Read:
Jeremiah 5:1-13
Reflect:
What is God seeking?
"You desire truth in the inward being" (Psa. 51:6, NRSV), King David once prayed in an act of sincere repentance. But now, in Jeremiah's time, despite God's corrective measures (3) there is not even a hint of repentance. There is no "desire for truth," no moral or spiritual integrity.
Yet God still holds back from all-out judgment, hoping to find at least one upright person in Jerusalem (1; here the story echoes Abraham's plea for Sodom in Gen. 18:26-32). But God's patience was misinterpreted as indifference (12; compare with 2 Pet. 3:8-10). Reluctantly on God's part, invasion and exile are now unavoidable (6; also 14-17).
If the church is to speak out effectively in our own day, it must first examine itself for hypocrisy and ensure it speaks and acts with integrity. And what is true for the church and those who lead it publicly must also be true for individual believers in our own smaller spheres of activity and witness, whether that be at home, in the workplace or in our leisure pursuits.
Apply:
Be a person of your word. Let your actions reflect a heart of truth. Entrust yourself to God and do what is right.
Pray:
You are always seeking reconciliation. Thank You that You held nothing back to make it possible to be reconciled to me.
