God’s indictment against
What caught my attention is how the Lord opened. He was looking for evidence of those 3 positives noted in verse 1. He did not find any; instead He found a bunch of junk (verse 2-19).
All too often I think about the “don’ts,” the things God does not want me (us) doing. But what the Lord first looked for was the “do’s.” I spent my devotional time considering the 3 ‘DOs’ God mentioned in verse 1.
God looked for faithfulness, doing what God deemed right in any given situation. It would involve how we act or speak to someone else. It would involve the gods we worship. It involves the manner of life we live.
God looked for love. My sense is that the love God was looking for was love toward others. I immediately thought of God’s love definition in 1Corinthians 13:4-8a. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…
God looked for acknowledgment of God. God looked for a people who by word, action and lifestyle lived as if God was present in their lives… lived as if God existed and mattered.
As I was pondering these attributes I understood by the Spirit that they are meters I could use to measure my life and my living… faithfulness, love, acknowledgment of God. A simple life-evaluating triad.
Lord, thank You for this practical and simple word. Help me to move beyond merely reading and into doing, by living in a manner that is faithful, loving and acknowledging of You. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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