Readings for today: Hosea 6-9
Repentance is beautiful. It is life-giving. It is the source of true joy and peace in life for it is a recognition that all of life is lived under God’s gracious and sovereign authority. It is the acknowledgment that God is God and we are not. He alone has the right to rule and reign because He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. He is all-powerful and all-knowing and always present. Most of all, He is love. He loves what He made so much He sent us His only Son in order to redeem and restore and make all things new and whole again. Humanity’s problem is she refuses to remain in her place. She refuses to accept her God-given, God-created role in the order of all things. Instead, she seeks to be like God herself. She wants to be in charge. She wants to call the shots. She wants the authority to determine how life goes. But she simply doesn’t have the ability to bear that kind of responsibility. She doesn’t have the strength or wisdom or knowledge or understanding or maturity to handle that kind of authority. So she fails. Miserably. Repeatedly. And results are tragic. The evidence is all around us every single day. On every news channel and social media news feed.
God is faithful. He lets humanity suffer the consequences of her sin. He refuses to step in and rescue us from our terrible choices. Instead, He holds us accountable. And though His judgments often seem harsh, they are what humanity has rightfully earned. Imagine how different things could be if we stopped fighting God at every turn? If we stopped resisting His will and His ways? If we stopped trying to do this life in our own wisdom and strength and instead turned to Him? This is the essence and the promise of repentance and it’s why prophets like Hosea are constantly calling out to us. “Come, let’s return to the Lord. For he has torn us, and he will heal us; he has wounded us, and he will bind up our wounds. He will revive us after two days, and on the third day he will raise us up so we can live in his presence. Let’s strive to know the Lord. His appearance is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the land.” (Hosea 6:1-3 CSB)
Repentance requires self-examination. It requires humility. A willingness to lay one’s life bare before the Lord. Honestly. Authentically. Holding nothing back. It requires us to let go of all we may hold dear. It requires us to relinquish our need to be in control. It requires us to surrender whatever authority we think we have to the Lord. It requires us to submit to His rule and reign. When was the last time you truly took stock of your life? Sat down with God’s Word in one hand and your life in the other and compared the two? When was the last time you truly surrendered a part of your life back to God that you knew was not in line with His will? When was the last time you truly made a significant and lasting change in your life because you knew it was what the Lord commanded?
Readings for tomorrow: Hosea 10-14