Jeremiah 3-5: Making a Difference

Wow these chapters were intense! I am going to try to be short and sweet with this entry so you don't end up re-reading the entire Bible, but there was a lot that jumped out of me from these 3 chapters - probably because I am personally dealing with facing my sins and confessing them and trying to be that one person to make a difference. SO...here it goes!


The first thing I noticed in chapter 3 was God's love for us - without coming out and say it, He does EVERYTHING He can to show us His incredible, unconditional love. Reading through, how many times does God say "Return to me" in one form or another? Soo many, and this longing from Him continues into Chapter 4 and 5. This really made me realize how impossible His job is. We make it so incredibly difficult for Him - we push Him away and struggle to let Him in. And all He really wants is for us to confess that we are sinners. It isn't a hard thing to do - we know we do it. We know we do wrong, and even more importantly, we know that God will always love us and always forgive us and always keep us under His wing. So what are we afraid of?? Chapter 4 continues with this whole idea, although I wasn't in love with this chapter for that reason. 4:30 really got me, though. "What are you doing, you devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? WHy color your eyes with paint? You adorn yourselves in vain. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life." In WM we talk a lot about why we get pretty. And there is nothing wrong with it, unless you are doing it for the wrong reasons. Or if you are taking it to a point that is diminishing other important parts of your life. Why are you doing this? For what reasons? Or more importantly, for whom?

But Chapter 5 is the reason I entitled this entry "Making a Difference." Verse 1 is so powerful, I almost wanted to put my Bible down right there. "If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city." Seriously, one person? Out of a whole city? Just one person?!?! How amazing is it that as angry as God gets throughout this book, throughout these chapters, He just wants one of us to be that person to make a difference. He loves all of us, but if just one of us will openly love Him, the deal is made. He's sold on that. Seems desperate, but really, when I think about it, if just one of us is willing to stand up and take that first step, that is all that is needed to make a huge change. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (how many times have you heard this?). I don't know about you, but as God starts to get angrier and angrier in this chapter, yelling and yelling and threating and punishing, it makes me scared of Him. Scared of not being on His good side, at least.

I guess I want to end this before I write a book. But basically, He loves us way more than I ever think He does. He will always forgive me, and He will always beg me to return to Him when I stray. Why can't I put Him first like He does me? Why can't I not want to stray? Why can't I want to please Him above all else? Why do we take Him, His forgiveness, and His love, for granted each and every day?