Living in the Spirit
July 25, 2016

Scripture Reading: Hosea 11:1-11

When Israel was a child, I loved him,
   and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them,
   the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
   and offering incense to idols. –Hosea 11:1-2

All children age-appropriately test and try the wisdom they receive from their parents. It is how they grow and mature into strong, healthy adults. “Don’t touch; it’s hot” is a truth learned very quickly when a toddler’s hand just cannot resist the grill guarding a fire. Score one for the wisdom of parents.

My mother grew up in an age when a deck of playing cards was the devil’s handiwork. We never had such a deck in our home. When my brother, sister, and I were teenagers visiting friends, we routinely played spades and hearts without an iota of guilt. The inherent problems of gambling stuck, cast in the math of chance and better uses for hard earned money. Mom was a math teacher. Cultures change; God does not. There is always give and take as children grow into adults each as unique beings. We would want it no other way. Hopefully, all journeys toward adulthood are undergirded by loving parents who make the tough trip easier.

In the scripture today, Hosea describes God in the role of a loving parent who saved the people from oppression, gave them a way of being beyond the only things they knew–slavery, and traveled with them every step they took toward the promised land. Somewhere beyond their rescue, the people grew restless wanting to touch the grill and not get burned, and if God could not protect them, they would find a god that would. They turned their back on God’s wisdom and God’s love.

While God’s love never diminishes, the Lord grants us the freedom to follow God’s way and to accept the consequences of our decisions and actions. As we face the challenges and fears of our world today, we need to hold on more tightly than ever to God’s wisdom and not waste our time searching for other gods whose motivation is not love.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we hunt for other gods willing to allow us to live in danger’s way. Remind us of the wisdom of your loving ways. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.