Today’s
Scripture Reading (April 18, 2017) Jeremiah 24
Our lives are lived in search of honor. We want to be respected and raised up
– we want to be somebody. It is the cry of our lives that is reflected in the movies that we watch. The
famous words were spoken by Marlon Brando (as the
character Terry Malloy) in the classic film On
the Waterfront hits us because we emotionally know the words. They talk about our desire and our feeling about
our past and our future. We want people to know of our importance - they
accurately reflect the way that we feel about our own lives. Terry’s words in the movie were “You don’t
understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody
…”
Israel knew the words too. They
looked back at their lives and wept over what could have been. If only their ancestors had treated the
things of God better, maybe then they would
still be ruling instead of being exiles in a foreign land. Maybe then God
wouldn’t have turned his back on them.
But God speaks of a different
reality. In his eyes, Israel is not a people
that he had thrown away. They continued to be a
people that were special to him – even though their external circumstances
didn’t seem to reflect that. Everything was still going according to God’s
purpose. God was in the business of shaping his people. What Israel felt that
they could have been – God says that they still are.
It is too easy to get focused on
our circumstances and lose sight of for what God is shaping us.
Independent of our present circumstances, God is still in control – and we really are somebody. Go and be the somebody that God sees when he looks at you.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 25
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