From today’s reading...
We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God,
nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us.”
After receiving their freedom from Egypt the Israelites got lazy and ended up defeated again and exiled to Babylon when they made the statement above.
But at least they eventually woke up and admitted they had brought this on themselves, which made them “flushed with shame.”
They had clear instructions and examples and leaders given to them to help them live full, happy, productive lives, but they were “disobedient...and only too ready to disregard his voice.”
Cause and effect.
My Ford Excursion has a diesel engine. The owner’s manual says “Thou shalt not put unleaded gasoline in the tank.” (Yeah, Shakespeare wrote the manual. That was a talented dude. He didn’t even have a computer and he wrote all that!)
Is Ford trying to limit me and restrict my freedoms or is Ford giving me clear instructions on how to get the best, most efficient, longest-lasting performance out of my truck?
If only we had an owner’s manual for our lives…
Hmmmm...where could we find something like that?
If there was an owner’s manual for our lives, and we ignored it, ridiculed it, and did all we could to go against it, how might our lives and the lives of those around us turn out?
If you can found that owner’s manual for your life, I bet following it would be the best way to...
Stay the course.
Keep the faith.
Endure.
