One of the greatest ills of American society is apathy. Many citizens do not bother to vote on Election Day. Civic organizations struggle to find volunteers. People express strong opinions about needed changes, but then do little about making those changes happen. We give only halfhearted support.
Jeremiah writes against Judah for being halfhearted. Her sister nation Israel has openly rebelled against God with adultery and immorality. But Judah stands equally guilty, pretending to love God but not returning to Him with all her heart. In fact, Jeremiah says, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah” (Jeremiah 3:11).
Even as we confess our halfhearted response to God, He promises to be our faithful Husband. He gives us shepherds after His own heart to care for us. They point us to the chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who wholeheartedly obeyed the Father and died for our sins. Jesus draws us to Himself. Forgiven and restored, our love for God increases. The spirit fills us with enthusiasm to live for God and others. By grace God fills our hearts with praise to Him. With God’s heart in us, we are halfhearted no more.
PRAYER: Thank You, O Holy Spirit for filling me with enthusiasm to serve God by serving others. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)