Hosea 2

I have a new favorite chapter of the Bible. Hosea 2. I know its an obscure favorite, but seriously. It is remarkable. A perfect illustration of our sinfulness, God's jealousy for our hearts and His redemptive power to rebuild what we break. Truly remarkable. Hope filled. Humbling too. I urge you to read it.

Some favorite parts?

Verses 14-15: Therefore, I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor [trouble] a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of Egypt.

Verses 19-20: I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.

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This chapter simply strikes a chord within me unlike any other. You see, the world has allured her. And she has prostituted herself to everyone and everything. And He is a jealous God who wants her heart - the heart He created for His glory.

And so she is stripped naked. Her path blocked. Unable to catch desire. She is exposed. Her celebrations put to an end.

And that is when He allures her... gently leads her to the desert.

There she confronts Hurt. The barren, rolling hills emanate emptiness and despair. Why here? There are no distractions. Nothing to run to. No way to hide. Her heart is laid bare and her mind peeled open to Truth and Understanding.

It is here that He speaks. Every so tenderly. Piercing her heart with Truth.

"You've come. I've been waiting."

And then emotion comes. A cry for help within her withered and broken soul pleads for deliverance from the heavy chains. No more hiding. No more running. The dam breaks free and washes everything away.

And then the rebuilding begins. Troubled lies are brought forth and the door of hope gives way to freedom.

And then she feels it happening. Her rusting heartstrings are replaced and re-laced with ones of fine gold. And she can't hold back. A song of joy and redemption is released from within her soul and she is free!

The names of the past fade from her lips. A new covenant is made. A betrothal for eternity... in righteousness, justice, love and compassion.

Adultery gives way to faithfulness as LOVE is acknowledged. And LOVE responds. A booming voice over all creation.

"I planted you here for myself. I will show you my love for you are mine and I will fight for you."

And out of the desert she comes. And she responds, "Yes, I am yours and You are my God."

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Incredible! He is so jealous for her heart and purposefully stripes her of everything... and instead of condemning and judging... he leads her to the desert and speaks tenderly to her!

Do you get it? God is jealous for our hearts. He wants us for His own. In our days of trouble, He will lead us to the desert where we may feel lost, confused, tormented by who we have become and the choices we've made in the past. But it is from the desert that He provides a door of hope and redemption. It is from the desert that He speaks tenderly to us; where He waits for our hearts to respond.

Will we open our hearts to Him? Will we respond to His grace and love? Or will we remain in the desert? Will we become comfortable and take up residence there? Will we ignore the slavery that constricts our hearts? Perhaps our slavery is indistinguishable... perhaps it has become the norm in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are slaves at all. But if we become comfortable in the desert we will only keep ourselves from being rebuilt and molded into who we were originally created to be. We will instead be lost forever. Never finding our way. Chasing after things we will never catch.

And so the question remains... will we listen to His tender voice? Will we be released from the bondage that so easily consumes? Or will we remain lost forever?

Hypocrisy: Still learning but here are some thoughts

I'm nervous to post anything on this topic... and to be honest, I don't really want to, but something makes me think I need to. So, here it is. I'm sure not everything I write will be truth as I am still learning, but I extend my trust to you and ask for your open heart and mind to these random smatterings of thoughts on hypocrisy.

Here we go...

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One of the biggest objections that many people (non-believers and believers alike) have against Christians is that our lives are saturated with hypocrisy. We say one thing, but do another. We proclaim that sin is wrong, and then turn around and sin against someone we love. We put ourselves on a pedestal because we are "saved," while condemning everyone else for being full of "sin." Then, we turn around and are selfish, prideful, drunkards, gossipers, full of hate, searching out instant gratification, and finding fulfillment in selfish ambition and vain conceit.

We cannot deny that this is happening... because it is happening. It's a dark and painful truth. But its real. Therefore, it must be brought forth into the light. It must be discussed. If left under the rug, it will only brew more hate and confusion in the hearts of men. That is why I write on this topic. May this be the platform that prompts discussion so that we may be challenged to learn something new together.

Ok, so here's the thing. All of us sin and will continually fall short of the mark. Regardless of whether we do or do not believe in Jesus, we undoubtedly do wrong. Every day. Multiple times. Maybe even the same thing multiple times every day. There's just no getting around it. We will all repeatedly sin whether we purposefully seek it out (because sometimes we do), or even when we desperately try not to (because sometimes we will just give in). We are stuck in the struggle to do what our flesh desires and what our spirit was created for. Therefore, "Christians" will, by unfortunate default, live hypocritical lives until we are reunited with Jesus in Heaven.

So, yes. Christians are indeed hypercritical. I am in fact a hypocrite. Despite the truth that the desire and longing to live a right life runs deep deep deep within my heart... I often sin. I do what I proclaim to be wrong or harmful or self destructive or prideful... because sin will always be knocking at my door.. and sometimes I don't have the strength or ability or desire to deny it and leave it on the door step. Instead, I'll answer and take part.

And if I'm expected or asked not to be a hypocrite, then I am essentially being asked to be perfect. And there is only one person who has ever lived a perfect life on this earth... and that is Jesus.

I am not Jesus. And therefore, I will never be able to live a blameless, sin-free life. This is a humbling truth because it means that I will fail in my journey to obey Jesus because I love him and want to do what is right. But I will fail. Every day even.

Perhaps people have a misunderstanding of what Jesus asks for. Perhaps some believe He calls us to perfection, and, because they know in their hearts (like I know in mine) that perfection cannot be reached, they instead ask and place blame... "You say you know Jesus, so why don't you act like it? Why can't you stop being hypocritical?"

This condemnation is rightly placed to an extent. We are called to live like Jesus, but Jesus does not call us to be perfect. I remember the light bulb that went on in my head when I finally realized this in my own life. But He just does not call us to be perfect. He simply asks for our love and for our honest attempt at living a real life that may reveal His glory and glorify Him. A refreshing truth, isn't it? 

Hypocrisy becomes the type of hypocrisy that many people (and may I include myself too?) despise when it acts as a justification for sin and the provision of a sense of freedom to do whatever we want. But the knowledge that we are all in fact sinful does not give way to a path of acceptable selfishness and wrongdoing.

The knowledge that we are sinful gives way to an understanding of our need and dependence on the only one who has ever lived a blameless life, and yet chose to take upon himself the sin of the world, and die as a pure sacrifice for our freedom.

We don't deserve it. I don't and you don't either.

Jesus' sacrifice is a demonstration of desperate love and grace. He wants us for His own... for all eternity. He chose us, now we each must make our own decision. Will we choose Him?

It sounds absurd! I know it does because even as I sit here writing it I'm asking, "Is that really all there is to it?" The profound simplicity of it all is what undoubtedly causes turmoil in our hearts and minds... because we are creatures of logic and reason. It just doesn't seem rational that we could receive a gift so great and so undeserved by not doing anything. It doesn't take good works.

All that is asked for is love. And obedience comes from love.

And therefore, out of complete love for Him, I jump into an attempt to live a right and blameless life as best as I can for Him. If we choose Him over ourselves and over this world, we may be set free from our sin and from the bondage that holds us back from being all the we were created to be.

And so, may I be so bold to say that I will rejoice over the fact that I am a hypocrite? Yes, I will fail again. But instead of using grace as a justification for my sin, I will let the knowledge and understanding of my failures bring me back to Jesus time and time again. They are the reminder in my life that I am nothing and that He is everything.

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PS: I will write about my St. Helens climb soon! Stay tuned!