Jeremiah 12-14:10, I Thessalonians 1:1-29, Psalm 79, Proverbs 24:34

Jeremiah 12-14:10, I Thessalonians 1:1-29, Psalm 79, Proverbs 24:34

Whenever Divan and I travel, I always make a soundtrack for our trip with songs that will make us laugh, me dance, and sing at the top of my lungs. They (obviously) consist of tunes inspired or based on the adventure. We just got back from South Africa and I can tell you that D is pretty sick of The Lion King (there is only so many times I can sing "The Circle of Life") and my parents had to endure the story of "The Elephant's Child" a few more times then intended. "The Elephant's Child" is a folk tale narrated by Jack Nicholson about how the elephant got its trunk after an encounter with a hungry crocodile in the forests of the Limpopo River. We of course know that God created the mighty elephant with trunks and all. These old folk stories and myths also give explanation of how constellations get stuck in the sky, how the rabbit got their ears, and how the tiger got its stripes. These stories all start with the subject lacking and missing something and because x, y, and z occurred, they gained a new status or feature...into how we know them today. Jeremiah 13:22-23 really got my attention today. It brings up the obvious- that the Ethiopian can not change his skin and the leopard cannot change its spots. There is an obvious feature for every created being that can not be altered. The bottom line is man will never be good.

Out story begins with the Creator, Adam, Eve, and the fall of man. We were created "good" but with the quick entrance of sin, we are all born with sin and no matter how hard we scrub the dirt, we will ways remain messy. These chapter in Jeremiah are peppered with questions directed at God, "Why is it easier for the wicked? Why do THEY have it so good? Why does this happen to me!" And it even ties in with our reading in Psalms 79, "How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever?" These are big questions we have everyday... That I face everyday! I wanna be good, I think I'm good, but all this crap happens! I know I can't change my spots, I can't change my skin. I try to cover things up (yes I love make-up) but no matter how much I cover up, I will always have my skin, I will always have my spots, I can "neither do good who [is] accustomed to doing evil." In a few days we will hear Paul identify himself as "The worst of sinners." (I Timothy 1:16).

There are all these questions and these chapters in Jeremiah are honestly, the hardest for me to read. I cringe and make faces at seeing God in this way. It's hard for me to think of my loving God being so angry, so full of wrath. He has poured out His cup so much, he acts with discipline. I wish I feared more, but my heart is filled with deep sadness instead. I don't know if this is right or not, but I ache for Israel. I ache for our hard hearted country. I ache for the lost. But as always, there is an answer, there is hope. Even through these red chapters I have been able to write the word "hope". In these verses we see the need and the answer is Christ. We are all from generation to generation in need of Christ, the "Savior in times of distress." We will always have sin like the leopard has spots, like the elephant has its trunk, but because of sin, we are able to have salvation, hope, and mercy through Christ alone. If it wasn't for this ugliness, we would never know the BEAUTY of Christ Jesus, of His sacrifice and the fulfillment of Gods compassion and love for us.