Come, let us return to
the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up..,
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up..,
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth...”
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth...”
For I desire steadfast
love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Hosea 6: 1, 3, 6
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Hosea 6: 1, 3, 6
If to know the Lord is to walk in
clarity and light, just as the dawning sun illuminates the earth –
if pursuing Him leads to refreshment, growth and renewal, as the
rains of spring do to the winter-hardened earth (v. 3) – then when
we find ourselves tired, confused and spiritually dry, we might do
well to consider what we're chasing after.
What is our main pursuit in life – is
it the approval of man, the satisfaction of our flesh, the avoidance
of our fears? Or are we consumed with “pressing on” to know the
Lord better every day, which is the only goal in life that will
ultimately satisfy and revive the soul?
How are we like the ancient Israelites,
offering up “sacrifices” instead of genuinely pursuing to know
the Lord out of steadfast love (v. 6)? Sacrifices are the easy route
– we simply muster up the spiritual zeal to serve in some way that
we feel is important, and then we're done. We can move on with the
rest of our week, relatively unchanged in our hearts, yet feeling
good about having checked off our “service to the Lord” box.
But Christ desires our hearts, not just
our hands.
He desires us to daily draw so near to Him that we cannot
help but walk away changed by the experience of knowing Him better
through His Word and prayer.
And as we “taste and see that the Lord
is good” (Ps. 34:8), our love for Him will grow, and we will hunger
for more of Him, pressing on to know Christ – whom to know is life
eternal (John 17: 3). As we embrace Christ, we embrace eternal life
in the here and now.
So let us daily draw nearer, knowing
and therefore loving Him better. Let us fight against the temptation
to put ourselves on spiritual cruise control and complacently sit
back, content with the knowledge of Him that we've gained from
previous days.
There is infinite goodness in Christ to
be had! If we spent every one of our remaining waking ours at His
feet, we would still not come close to drinking in all His beauty!
But let us be found there. Let it be our goal that we do
less “returning” (because we never
left) and more
remaining at His feet.
All throughout our days, let our hearts
ever anchor themselves next to His. And “as sure as the dawn” -
as certainly as the ever increasing morning light of a sunrise
gradually reveals the world around us - God will steadily give us
more knowledge of Himself and a deeper relationship with His Son if
we stay awake and pursue Him.
