Who defines you?

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:

What did I like about today’s passage?

In the time of Jeremiah, life was clearly not going well for God’s people. I expect most would have said that things were not going according to plan. But whose plan would that be?

Let’s say you owned a house in Jerusalem or a field somewhere else in Judah and, according to Jeremiah, you had to leave after resisting with all your might. That wouldn’t be your plan. It happens to be God’s plan, and the payoff seems a long, long way away. Would you trust God to define the plan you go with instead of the one which seems best right now for you?

I love that Zedekiah rediscovered God’s plan for his people to live in freedom and gave the nation a chance to recommit to it. I’m intrigued that they agreed, but then changed their minds. I guess a lot of their plans to get stuff done got disrupted by not having people to do the stuff for them. If your life got harder because of God’s plan, would you prefer your own?

I don’t find this an easy question. It does seem easy to look from a distance and see the foolishness of people who didn’t trust God to bring ultimate joy and salvation. But at what cost? What motivation could I possibly find within myself to resist hardship now for that?

This is why I love the Rekabites. They knew who they were and whose word defined them. It wasn’t just that they did what they were told. A man of God told them to drink some wine! But they refused because they were defined by their forefather and a lot of inconvenience which he told them to accept. God recognised their faithfulness and obedience with an eternal promise. It’s like they and God dealt in the same currency of faithfulness and across the same scale of “much bigger than you and your lifespan.” How amazing is that?

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God works in the world on an enormous scale which can be difficult to grasp and accept, especially when it seems to bring a clash in our lives against what seems best for us right now. But God loves us and wants us not just to obey him but be defined by him. He wants us to know who we are in him, which is who we are in eternity, not just who we think we are right now. He offers the chance to work this out through making and keeping promises. While he knows we struggle with this, he also offers forgiveness and eternal connection to him through a promised “Righteous Saviour” we know as Jesus.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

Consider what promises, especially to God, I may have made and perhaps failed to keep, put aside because of things which have seemed more pressing. I want to renew my commitment to being defined by him and living in relationship with him.

Who am I going to share this with?

People I follow Jesus with, and especially anyone I may need to fix relationship with if I have broken a promise!