Stumbling In The Way (Hosea 14:9)


 

Wednesday, August 14, 2024


Psalms 108; 109:20-30

Hosea 14

Romans 9:25-10:4


Observance: Twentieth century martyrs


Stumbling In The Way (Hosea 14:9)


Well done all of us for getting through another minor prophet! These little-read books tucked away at the end of the Old Testament are often skipped over; if we hear anything from them it is usually just a nice line or two on a fridge magnet or coffee mug. But to have made our way through all fourteen chapters of Hosea is something we should all feel happy about.


How else could we have approached this final section without having paid attention to what has come before? There was: prostitution, both spiritual and physical, committed by both men and women; greed; cheating; lying; stealing; child sacrifice; and widespread destruction and war crimes. God, looking down on all this, didn’t beat about the bush when he told us his opinion about it.


Yet, as with every message from God, there is always the open hand of peace offered towards us. Return to the Lord your God; your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord – this is the consistent message of scripture, and the book of Hosea is no different.


Repentance – that is, saying sorry to God and asking him to help you amend your ways – is the path to life. It sounds so easy – in theory, at least. In practice, however, it is almost impossible. Repentance requires humility, to realise we are not as crash-hot as we thought we were. Repentance also involves a kind of little death. Something has to die.


But that death is not a bad thing. When we repent, we are dying to evil: we are allowing our pride to die, our self-righteousness, the thing that lies to us and tells us we should be proud. And the result of repentance is resurrection: God forgives, and raises us to new life, to greater heights than we ever thought possible when hedged about by the darkness of sin.


When looking about this great construction site of the kingdom of heaven, we need to remember that the only way to save ourselves and our people is in the name of Jesus, who calls us to repent. He shows us the ways of the Lord, and the righteous walk in them. He is also a rock of offence, which causes people to stumble, because he leaves no room for our own pride.


Are you stumbling over Jesus and what he teaches? Where is pride blinding you to the greater opportunities for living that Jesus offers?


Jesus, my rock and my redeemer: take my pride to your cross, so that I may be raised to new life in you.

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