Every now and then the prophet Jeremiah was given a good word to speak and that makes the promise of “the days are surely coming” noteworthy. Even so none of the people to whom these words were written saw the day that would surely come. They died in the land of their enemy sitting by the waters of Babylon weeping the songs of Zion
There's so much here that it seems overwhelming. You are right to put it in historical context and I'm sure that is how it is best read, but for me the significance is what it means for my life in this time and place. The first thing it brings up for me is God's incomprehensible faithfulness. God is faithful to find a new way to relate with His people, even though they repeatedly rejected this dutiful husband. The second things that strikes me to the core is that God's law has been written on our hearts. Though we Christians are so confused and divided by "the law", the seed of truth and love and grace is indelibly written deep within each of us. No matter what we try to make religion into, part of this covenant is that, as Eugene Peterson puts it, "They'll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow." So, we have no excuses. We know the truth, we just don't choose it most of the time. I know your focus and the focus of most Christians is what "I will remember their sin no more" means in terms of some future life, when we will see Him face to face. But, for me, this text is more about the here and now, and leaves me with this kind of question: If we are fully forgiven in spite of our own self-centeredness, if this husband won't divorce us no matter what we do, then what does that mean in terms of how we might live our lives today?
ReplyDeleteI agree and maybe I need to clarify that whenever I talk about the future it always involves the present. The promise believed is the promise fulfilled. We have already passed from death to life. But it is a both and - not an either or. The eternal day for which we wait has not fully come and yet it is fully present and available in the life of grace. The reason we don't choose to live it most of the time is that we don't fully believe it.
ReplyDeleteI know you're a both-and guy, and I really appreciate your perspective. I have experienced so many people who seem entirely focused on some future ethereal existence without ever seeing a connection with how eternal relationship with God is to play out today. For that reason, I feel compelled to focus my faith on this side of life. We've got people in Christendom right now who are doing a Wiki-bible (conservative bible [small "b" intentional]), and writing out John 7:53-8:11 and Luke 23:34 and more. Pharisee has been retranslated as “Liberal”, and the parables of Jesus have been rewritten to explain “their full free-market meaning.” I know several people who have this mindset quite well. What their faith boils down to is OT law, Jesus on the cross, and heavenly glory. That's it in a nutshell. Rules and regulations, the sacrificial Jesus, and aren't we just great getting ready to live it up in heaven. It makes me want to throw up, and I feel compelled to fight it.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Fight the good fight and take Paul's advice to Timothy for your stomach. And thanks for your perspecitve, you might see it reflected in Tuesday's blog on Psalm 46.
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