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"Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart"
In Jeremiah's prophetic words to the people of Judah in Chapter 7, God denounces their vain attempt to cover their sin-plagued lifestyle by appealing to their "righteous" method of worship. They had allowed
themselves to be polluted by the customs of their heathen neighbors, and their lives did not align with what their worship professed: "…Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, 'This is the temple of the Lord, the
temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord'. For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor,
if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then
I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and
commit adultery, and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is
called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!' - that you may do all these abominations?" (v. 3-10) Judah had so distanced herself from the relationship she once enjoyed with her Living
God, that she began to believe that it was the ritual of religious practice that carried the day with God, and they were free to do whatever they pleased outside of the
confines of the temple. The daily "slip-ups" didn't matter they reasoned, because God
would be so enthralled with their temple worship that He would summarily dismiss and forget their offenses. WRONG!!! God always has and always will
look to the condition of our hearts. He won't let us half-step with Him…He wants our whole heart, mind and strength. No "goin' to meetin'" on Sunday to
pave the way for another week on fleshly indulgences. He wants us to mean business…to apply scripture to every aspect of our lives, 24 / 7.
In The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel (Fleming H. Revell, 1977), the authors indicate that the Puritans, once staunch in their pursuit of the
Kingdom of God in their daily walk - individually and corporately - experienced much the same dilution of their devotion, as their spiritual ancestors of Judah:
"Thus did the Puritans lay down their cross. They stopped their ears and refused to listen to their ministers, and they ceased to correct and admonish one another and
their children, choosing instead, greed, privacy, independence, and idolatry. The Light of Christ grew steadily dimmer. It was attracting hardly any of the children
now. And thus the Puritan churches faced a dilemma: what to do about the children of members who had never been converted to Christ themselves, but who now wanted to
have their own children baptized in the church? In the end, they came up with what was dubbed the 'Half-Way Covenant.' This extended partial membership to such parents
and enabled them to have their children baptized, but did not permit them to take Holy Communion. It was the best solution that they could come up with, and it fairly well
defined the place they had come to: a half-way covenant for half-way committed Christians." (p. 220) Brothers and Sisters in Christ, tomorrow as we remember the gruesome
death, which Our Lord experienced in our stead, let us take a "spiritual inventory". Ask the Holy Spirit of God, as King David did, to "Search me, O
God, and know my heart." (Psalm 139) Ask Him for the courage to change areas of your life with which you know He is not pleased. Then celebrate this
Easter, and His empty tomb, as though it were your first Easter after hearing that Jesus loved YOU for the very first time! |
