Monday, June 05, 2023

           ^1-3 “Come on, let’s go back to God.  He hurt us, but He’ll heal us.  He hit us hard, but He’ll put us right again.  In a couple of days, we’ll feel better.  By the third day He’ll have made us brand-new,alive and on our feet, fit to face Him.  We’re ready to study God, eager for God-knowledge.  As sure as dawn breaks, so sure is His daily arrival.  He comes as rain comes, as spring rain refreshing the ground.”

^4-7 “What am I to do with you, Ephraim?  What do I make of you, Judah?  Your declarations of love last no longer than morning mist and predawn dew.  That’s why I use prophets to shake you to attention, why my words cut you to the quick: To wake you up to my judgment blazing like light. I’m after love that lasts, not more religion.  I want you to knowGod, not go to more prayer meetings.  You broke the covenant—just like Adam!  You broke faith with me—ungrateful wretches!                                                                                                                   Hosea 6:1–6

       The Prophet Hosea pleaded with Israel (Judah) to return to the Lord.  Returning to the Lord will bring restoration and revitalization.  Yet, through Hosea, God declares what returning should look like.  Returning means authentic love, not religious rituals.  Returning means knowledge of God, not religious gatherings.  Returning means faithfulness to the covenant, not willy- nilly covenant keeping.

       The tendency to turn relationship into ritual is real.  As someone who loves the liturgy, the rituals, it takes great effort to make sure they do not become a substitute for a loving relationship with God instead of a means of grace, a means through which the relationship with strengthened and deepened across time and space.  Even prayer can become a rote observance instead of a date with the Lover of my Soul.  O God, may my love for You always be fresh and new.  May Your work in me keep me faithful to Your commands and faithful in keeping my love for You real.  Amen!