Contemplative Bible Reading

Jeremiah 30:22 (New Living Translation)

You will be my people,
and I will be your God.

This is a short and simple statement. God is talking to the people through the prophet Jeremiah. At the time, the people were in bad shape. They were scattered among several nations in exile. Their disobedient lifestyle caused their nation to crumble to the point where foreign armies walked in, picked the healthy people, and took them away to be servants, accountants, merchants, and do lots of things the rich conquerors didn’t want to do.

A better time will come for the people. They will realize that Jehovah the Creator will be their God. The people will worship and serve Jehovah. They won’t worship other gods any longer. Life will be better. Society will be better. People will be happier and healthier.

Gosh, that sure sounds better than being deported to a place where you don’t understand anything anyone says, everyone spits on you, you do jobs you don’t like, and conditions are just … rotten.

I guess we can still choose what to do. Well, life here in America is pretty sweet. What’s the problem? Look around. All sorts of people pay no attention to God and they are doing just fine. Maybe so. Maybe not. Are people content? Happy? Satisfied? Have a good relationship with their kids? Maybe so. Maybe not.

This is all so simple and all so complex. There is much happening that we don’t see. Perhaps all this happiness is more than what we let people see of our lives. God, however, sees. Do I want Jehovah the Creator to be my god?