The common illustration is goldmining: it takes a lot of digging, but the gold is worth it!
This may not be the most relevant example, but I want to compare that to God's Word. I've been reading Isaiah and Jeremiah regularly these past few months. No, they are not easy reads. There are a LOT of passages about God's judgement against Israel and Judah that are not fun to read. (They don't make me feel all warm and happy inside.) It was when I took a module class on the prophetic books in Bible college that I really fell in love with these hard to read books. Why? Because I fell in love with God... with His heart. You must be asking, "His heart? Of judgement and anger?? What are you talking about? This is not a God that I want to love!" And its ok to ask those questions and to have those feelings... if we are all honest, it is hard to love a God who says things like, "I will winnow them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; they did not repent of their ways," (Jeremiah 15:7).
But, this is not the whole story. Not at all. There are so many pages I could write on what the Lord has been showing me and teaching me in these two prophetic books. So... I will try to be concise because this is not a book, this is a blog... and this only a post.
God's heart: crying out for His people. Please... lets not miss this. Lets not miss His heart. His breaking heart. An example: "Is Ephraim [another name for Israel/Judah] My dear son?... Indeed, as often I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him; Therefore My heart yearns for him..." (Jeremiah 31:20). Wow! His heart yearns for the very people who have rejected Him, "They have forsken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water," (Jeremiah 2:13).
I haven't even gotten to the passage that I reached a few days ago that led me to tears. But I am going to stop for now and pick up where I left off when I return from my ladie's retreat. Think on this: yes, God hates sin, but His heart is so full of love for you to run into His arms, rest in His embrace, enjoy His presence, and walk with Him.
This may not be the most relevant example, but I want to compare that to God's Word. I've been reading Isaiah and Jeremiah regularly these past few months. No, they are not easy reads. There are a LOT of passages about God's judgement against Israel and Judah that are not fun to read. (They don't make me feel all warm and happy inside.) It was when I took a module class on the prophetic books in Bible college that I really fell in love with these hard to read books. Why? Because I fell in love with God... with His heart. You must be asking, "His heart? Of judgement and anger?? What are you talking about? This is not a God that I want to love!" And its ok to ask those questions and to have those feelings... if we are all honest, it is hard to love a God who says things like, "I will winnow them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; they did not repent of their ways," (Jeremiah 15:7).
But, this is not the whole story. Not at all. There are so many pages I could write on what the Lord has been showing me and teaching me in these two prophetic books. So... I will try to be concise because this is not a book, this is a blog... and this only a post.
God's heart: crying out for His people. Please... lets not miss this. Lets not miss His heart. His breaking heart. An example: "Is Ephraim [another name for Israel/Judah] My dear son?... Indeed, as often I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him; Therefore My heart yearns for him..." (Jeremiah 31:20). Wow! His heart yearns for the very people who have rejected Him, "They have forsken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water," (Jeremiah 2:13).
I haven't even gotten to the passage that I reached a few days ago that led me to tears. But I am going to stop for now and pick up where I left off when I return from my ladie's retreat. Think on this: yes, God hates sin, but His heart is so full of love for you to run into His arms, rest in His embrace, enjoy His presence, and walk with Him.
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