Judges 2 – 3

Does anyone else feel irritated? What is it with the Israelites? Why don’t they remember all that God has done for them? They’ve seen how great he is – why don’t their hearts sing with praise all the time? Why aren’t the stories of the Exodus enough to keep them faithful? Why do they need to be brought back to God time and time again? How come they’re such an unreliable and inconsistent bunch?

And yet am I so very different? My faith doesn’t look or feel the same every day. Sometimes I’m on fire for God but other times I’m just drifting along – drifting away. God can’t rely on me to consistently respond as he wants – to himself or to other people.  ………. I’m not really so very different to the Israelites.

But isn’t that the whole point. Isn’t that exactly why he sent Jesus? He knew we can’t maintain a good relationship with him. He knew that if he left us alone it would be one long cycle after another of our drifting away and him steering us back with some “catastrophic” event. So – in his generosity and wisdom – he sent his son Jesus to show us how to live. Not only that but to take the cost of all our inconsistency and failure through his death on the cross. Only Jesus wasn’t defeated by the cross. He rose from death on the third day to glory and everlasting life and -because of him – so can we.

Please join me in spending 2 minutes thinking just how incredible that is.

 

Marion