So many times I'm like the bad witch Mombi in the Land of Oz. I change shapes hoping to escape detection by the good witch Glinda. But like Mombi when I realize that I've been found out I change into a Griffin and run top speed away. Just as Mombi failed to think through the fact that the SawHorse carrying Glinda would never tire due to his wooden make-up, so I too fail to grasp the fact that this finite body of mine will tire of running far before the infinite God will tire of pursuing me.
(and yes I have been reading through the Complete Wizard of Oz...it's called indulging the inner child) In my defense I will say this - there are many parallels to human nature and the Christian's life battle between good and bad to be found in these stories.
On a more serious note (and mature level)...I was also reading from the book of Hosea this weekend. There's so much of me in this sad, sordid love tale of God and His people. On my best day, in and of myself, I am a prostitute. I leave God's presence for things that won't satisfy. Without God redeeming me daily, I would still be an estranged harlot. I sell my soul for instant gratification; I worship at the altar of earthly things, of worry, of doubt, of desire, of shame, of pride, of acceptance, of others' approval...and the list could go on. Whatever calls to me louder than God's wooing, whatever pulls my focus away from my Lover, my Father, my Pursuer - this becomes my unfaithfulness, my betrayal to my Redeemer's everlasting compassion. For each of us, it is something different. I believe we each have our specific areas in which we struggle to not give our souls away at the price of being unfaithful to God, our Husband.
Here are some excerpts from Hosea that stood out to me:
Chapter 2:13-15 "I will punish her for all the times she deserted me, when she burned incense to her images of Baal, put on her earrings and jewels, and went out looking for her lovers," says the Lord. "But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a Gateway of Hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from the captivity of Egypt.
What impresses me here is that God makes it clear that there are consequences for our indiscretions, our betrayals of His compassion. He metes out punishment but then He wins us back. He leads us into the desert - a place of destitution, a place of barrenness, a place of testing where He is our only resource, our only Source to turn to for help and hope. It is there in that desert, that He speaks tenderly to us. And as we allow Him to speak tenderly to us, it is then that He can transform our Valley of Trouble into a Gateway of Hope and restore our "vineyards" to us. Vineyards - a place of fruition and beautiful, lush landscape. A place of beauty that brings honor to our Restorer.
Chapter 2:19 I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as Lord.
God will show us righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion forever. And he will be faithful to us and make us His and we will finally know Him as Lord. Wow! To think that we can experience that right now with the promise of it being even more fully known in eternity.
Chapter 2:23 "I will show love to those I called 'Not loved.' And to those I called 'Not my people,' I will say, 'Now you are my people.' Then they will reply, 'You are our God.'"
If you are in a season right now where you think that God is calling you not loved and not His. There's hope! In the day that you allow Him to lead you to the desert or perhaps I should say when you allow Him to speak tenderly to you. It's then that you realize that He is showing you love and is calling you "my people". Our only response then is to say, "You are our God!"
Chapter 4:11 Alcohol and prostitution have robbed my people of their brains.
Chapter 4:18b Their love for shame is greater than their love for honor.
I wonder how many times God feels this way about me, about you. Got your hackles up a bit? Are you protesting that you're not an alcoholic or into prostitution? Remember at our best days in and of ourselves we're no better than the most wretched sinner. All sin is sin. So with that in consideration -- I wonder if He says, Gossip and selfishness, lust and deceit, pride and self-righteousness, love of money and concern for appearances have robbed My people of their brains. I wonder how many times He shakes His head at us
because we cling to our shame rather than accept His honor. We find our shame to be too comfortable, to good of a smokescreen to let it go under God's redemption. To let it go and embrace instead His honor, His forgiveness, His unfailing compassion.
Here's a good video that I highly recommend you watch. It, along with the other works I referenced, helped spark this whole line of thought. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZJWnyT7oTI&feature=share
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