Saturday, October 17, 2009
Letting the spring rain in
"Let us acknowledge the Lord;
Let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
He will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains watering the Earth."
- Hosea 6:3
This is one of my favorite scripture songs we would sing in my church at Penn State. I never realized that it's right in the middle of a passage where the Israelites say this and then go right back to NOT acknowledging God. It's almost as though Hosea proclaimed this and the people were like... "Hmm, nice thought.. now where's my Baal idol I need a doughnut."
But I love the imagery that is in this verse. Like the rain at the end of winter, the Lord seeks to restore us, to build life back into us, to nourish us and keep us grean and beautiful. In thinking about that, and this time of year, it's also interesting to note how long it takes for the crops to yield, the trees to bear fruit, and the flowers to bloom and bear seeds.
It takes time for us to grow in Christ. Like the rain, each lesson has to sink in and be absorbed for us to see the results. The water of God's love and words can not just land on our skin and roll off. We have to drink it in and digest it. Dig in and think about it, contemplate it, meditate on it and allow his love to transform us from our roots.
That is how we bear fruit.
"Let us acknowledge the Lord;
Let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
He will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains watering the Earth."
- Hosea 6:3
This is one of my favorite scripture songs we would sing in my church at Penn State. I never realized that it's right in the middle of a passage where the Israelites say this and then go right back to NOT acknowledging God. It's almost as though Hosea proclaimed this and the people were like... "Hmm, nice thought.. now where's my Baal idol I need a doughnut."
But I love the imagery that is in this verse. Like the rain at the end of winter, the Lord seeks to restore us, to build life back into us, to nourish us and keep us grean and beautiful. In thinking about that, and this time of year, it's also interesting to note how long it takes for the crops to yield, the trees to bear fruit, and the flowers to bloom and bear seeds.
It takes time for us to grow in Christ. Like the rain, each lesson has to sink in and be absorbed for us to see the results. The water of God's love and words can not just land on our skin and roll off. We have to drink it in and digest it. Dig in and think about it, contemplate it, meditate on it and allow his love to transform us from our roots.
That is how we bear fruit.
