Spiritual Pain

Today's reading is in Jeremiah 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

One of the things that I saw in the Dominican Republic was a church alive to God's presence at all times. I think we who live in the prosperous, more affluent West are so used to the "extra" things in life that we are easily distracted, and more easily put our Spiritual life in a section of life, rather than in the whole.
One of the missionaries I encountered, Adrian, told me that an African had explained it to him like this: Our lives can be likened to a platter. For many, the platter is segmented...there is a section to keep everything separate. The meat doesn't touch the vegetables, etc...; and in our lives we keep job, marriage, church, all separated. The Bible teaches that our lives are not segments that don't touch, and remain separated; but are whole - all in one. So, the platter is not in segments, but everything we put on it is together, even though they might look different. Now, add to that, the platter is not Us, but it's God. He is the place where all of those things rest.

This was the dilemma of Jeremiah. He saw all of life in Jerusalem as a life with God - and it hurt him to see that life ignored. He knew what was happening to Jerusalem was not because of outside forces - the Babylonians; but rather was a direct result of the failure of his people to see God in everything. He felt it himself in a personal way and wrote this to God:

"You deceived me, lord, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, "I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."

And so he prophesied that things would not get better, but rather worse:
The day would come when Judah would also be taken captive. It was a sad day that God showed him would come, and he knew it was preventable, but that it would not happen, simply because the people had grown accustomed to segmenting God to a religious ceremonial part of life, instead of the whole.

"People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, 'Why has the lord done such a thing to this great city?'. And the answer will be: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.'"

It is an awesome thing to see God as "all in all".

Peace



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