Hosea 6:1-9:17
3 John 1:1-14
Psalm 126:1-6
Proverbs 29:12=14
Today's old testament reading was such an indictment of having other Gods before our Lord, and for the longest time, any time I read this my thoughts would fly to atheists and to other religions that did not acknowledge Christ, and I would think "poor them. How could they possibly not get it?" The further I go on my walk with God, however, I realize more and more that whatever this reading may have to do with other people is almost immaterial - it has a lot to do with ME. And while even then it would be easy to think of this sinfulness as active sins committed, the truth is I commit adultery against my God anytime I fail to acknowledge Him - probably because I've decided something was more important - or I've rejected Him - probably because I'd chosen to put my trust in something else - savings? job? relationships? Pick one, they'd be all correct. When things have gone pear shaped, I've been guilty of not crying out to God from my hearts, of slashing myself, appealing to their gods...turning away from Him to - unsurprisingly - adverse outcomes.
So now I have a better idea of the breadth and magnitude of my sinfulness, what next? The temptation would be to offer up sacrifices of atonement (for the less squeamish, perhaps the most dramatic example can be found in the Philippines on Good Friday, where penitents have themselves nailed to crosses). But the thing is, it doesn't look like God wants the sacrifice - He wants something else: He wants us to acknowledge Him, as Hosea says For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings." He doesn't want the perfunctory gesture of a ticked box of monthly confession; he wants us to get to know Him, acknowledge His existence, and get to know Him. Because when that happens, having been transformed by the knowledge of Him, our actions can only follow.
As I'd mentioned in an earlier blog, I am in the middle (still!) of a book called "Respectable Sins". It deals at length with what Christians seem to deem to be small, insignificant sins - like a lack of trust, a lack of thankfulness and gratitude and, (gasp!) a failure to acknowledge God and His existence in all we do. These seem to be among the sins Hosea discusses. But, having recognized them, what now? The book is clear that, among the key steps are a recognition of the fact God has forgiven us and the dependence upon the Holy Spirit for transformation.
Dear God, I confess the persistence of what I have, to now, deemed respectable, acceptable sins. These are all the more insidious in their pervasiveness, because I've taught myself to overlook them, and convinced myself the penalty for these sins can't be too great. Forgive me, and hear my acknowledgement of my complete dependence upon you for transformation and release from the bondage of these sins. I don't want to depend on perfunctory, tick the box type sacrifice. I depend on, and only upon, You. And no, there are NO acceptable sins. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment