Contemplative Bible Reading

Hosea 6:6 (New Living Translation)

6 I want you to show love,
not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me
more than I want burnt offerings.

God is speaking to the people through the prophet Hosea. The people are “going through the motions” or “checking off the boxes” or some cliche that means, “Hey God, look, we brought some livestock to the Temple and killed them.”

I guess in today’s world, I could say something like, “Hey God, look, I gave money this Sunday. Someone will spend it for some good purpose.”

Sacrifices and burnt offerings were a good things back in the day. Giving money to charity and church is a good thing today. Are those acts what God wants? In part, “Yes.” In whole, “No, not enough.”

In addition to giving money this Sunday, God wants me to have compassion on that guy who wanders around the parking lot every Saturday morning in the cold while I’m drinking coffee in the coffee shop and typing little essays like this one. How do I show that compassion? Well, that is up to me, but God recognizes it and its absence.

In addition to giving money to God’s work, I need to know God. Whoa. That is a complicated yet simple one. I have to figure it out and do it. Please God, help me in my unbelief.