Jeremiah's Wake-Up Call

I'm starting to read through the book of Jeremiah - one of my favorite Old Testament books. The passages in Jeremiah are heartbreaking, as God is reaching out to his people and they ignore him. They have forgotten all that he has done for them and have moved on to other gods. From Chapter 2:

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
And I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, you defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the shepherds[a] transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after things that do not profit."

The parallels to today cannot be ignored. As members of the Church, how often do we forget what God has done for us? He has given us so much, but most of the time we act as if we are poor, complaining about what we wish we had instead of appreciating what we do have. From a wider perspective, the Church is its own worst enemy. So many pastors and church leaders "who handle" his Word, do not know him. They add and subtract from his Word to fit some social, political, or cultural agenda, leading people to seek after things which ultimately "do not profit." Many who have grown up in Christian homes have forsaken their faith, becoming hostile to it, worshipping some cause or themselves, seeking meaning and redemption "in a land of drought and deep darkness" instead of enjoying "a plentiful land" and enjoying "its fruits and its good things."

Although written thousands of years ago, Jeremiah's words are a wake-up call to the world and God's people to return to him:

"Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord;
I will not be angry forever."

As the new year begins, pray for ourselves that we may love God more and more; pray for the lost that they may know the true God; and pray for the enemies of God's people that their hearts may be changed so that, like Saul, they may become God's followers and friends, like Paul.