Who Is Our Lord?

9 Jul

Israel is a luxuriant vine
whose fruit matches its growth.
The more abundant his fruit,
the more altars he built;
The more productive his land,
the more sacred pillars he set up.
Their heart is false,
now they pay for their guilt;
God shall break down their altars
and destroy their sacred pillars.  (Hos 10:1-2)

One of the things that appears to be hardwired in our human nature is praise/blame.  When things go our way, we make sure that we receive all the praise.  When they do not go our way, we heap out generous amounts of blame on everybody but ourselves.

We make sure we receive all the praise even though we are not deserving of it.  Things may have gone our way because we had a part in it.  Things may be good because others have done their part.  They may be good because God, alone, has blessed us.

However, we do not think about others.  We do not think about God.  We think about ourselves.

That is the lesson in today’s reading from Hosea.  The Israelites were in good times.  Their crops were plentiful, their lands productive, and they claimed all of it on their own.  They did not give God His due.

The prophet foretold that, because of their neglect of God, they would suffer.  All that they had would be torn down and lost.

But they would come back again.  They would gain all that they had lost.  Then, they would lose sight of the Lord and lose it all again.  And the cycle would continue on and on and on and on…

All the way to today.

We often forget to include the Lord in our prayers of thankfulness.  When good things happen, our human nature still wants to make sure that we receive the praise for it.  We still do not acknowledge God as we should.

Are we setting ourselves up for another fall? Or, will we give God His due today?

FAITH ACTION:  Reflect upon all your many blessings.  Make sure to thank God for them this day.