Heartbroken - August 11, 2015

Heartbroken

August 11, 2015

Jeremiah 8:18-19 NLT

¹⁸ My grief is beyond healing;
    my heart is broken.
¹⁹ Listen to the weeping of my people;
    it can be heard all across the land.
“Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem?” the people ask.
    “Is her King no longer there?”

“Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols
    and their worthless foreign gods?” says the Lord.

We have all been heartbroken over something or someone in our lives. The loss of someone by an accident, a disease or even old age is never easy. We get attached. We love. Maybe it was a relationship where a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a spouse left. Maybe it was you that left. The pain is still there.

Other times it is the loss of something. I remember many years ago when the Winnebago Council, BSA was making the difficult decision to close one of the camps that they operated. Financially this made sense. The discussion around it was heated. Those that lived near and typically went to one of the two camps were very adamant about ‘their’ camp staying open. I started to get pulled into that discussion because I was on staff at both camps for a number of summers. Fortunately I was able to pull myself away and look at it objectively. Yes, I did have a favorite. It was not based on location, but on other reasons. I was devastated when I found out that my favorite, Winnebago, would be closed. At the same time I was excited for the possibilities for Camp Ingawanis. More money could be funneled to the camp that stayed open providing even better service to the boys attending the camp. It was a hard decision and I know that it was not made lightly.

Jeremiah is heartbroken for Jerusalem, Judah and the people. They have abandoned God and still expect the same treatment from Him as if they had not. To answer the question that the people had about whether or not God had abandoned Jerusalem and whether He was still their king the answer is no. God did not abandon them. He was still their king. But just like any parent He was disciplining His children.

Think about it. There are consequences for our actions. During the week they would worship the gods of the nations around them. Then, on the Sabbath they would go to the temple to worship God. Oh, wait. People still do that. They live their lives the way they want to 166 of the 168 hours each week and still have the same expectations of God as if they lived His way all day, every day. Doesn’t that seem a bit mixed up? Praise God for 1 or 2 hours a week and then bash on others, treat people poorly, sin. That is not a bit mixed up. That is really messed up. God sent Jesus to be our example. Jesus taught us how to live, love and serve. He did it every waking hour of His entire life. Let’s assume he was awake 16 hours a day for 33 years. That means Jesus was our example 5,840 hours per year. Multiply that by 33 year and He was at it 192,720. God is there for us 24/7 for the approximately 7.125 billion people that are living right now, that doesn't include all that went before us and that will come after us.

Now let’s look at ourselves. Figuring on 2 hours per week for God for 80 years ... do the math. We are not living up to our side. God has called us to live and love like Jesus every waking hour. We fall short. Throw on top of that the fact that we worship other gods (money, sports teams, work, people, etc.) and we are not that much different from the Israelites. We need to step up our game. No, we need to get into the game. Let’s live and love like Jesus showed us every waking moment for the rest of our lives!

Father we are sorry that we do not give you 100% of ourselves 100% of the time. Help us to get rid of those other idols and to walk with You. Help us to get past whatever temptation is in front of us right now and to live the life that You have prepared for us. Thank you God that you have not abandoned us even when we have abandoned You. We are eternally grateful, Amen!