Returning home would be hard. Returning to his father, harder still.
In the Old Testament, the Lord called his wayward people back to Himself through Jeremiah the prophet. They had strayed far from God and were in imminent danger of reaping the brutal harvest of their rebellion. In many ways the prodigal of the parable had taken a similar path. Just as he ended up with nothing and no one, so, too, Judah is on the brink of devastating conquest by the Chaldeans.
The self-destructive fascination of Judah with the idols of her sister Israel (Jeremiah 3:6-10) was folly, madness, stupidity and, sadly, easily relatable to most of us:
“Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water”
(Jeremiah 2:12-13 ESV).
The call of God to that spiritually distant people was unambiguous:
“If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return"
(Jeremiah 4:1 ESV).
Could we ever be as far away from God as this? Have we walked that path and made those choices? Are we scrabbling around in the dust of our rebellion and fascination with the empty idols of this world?
Even with the Spirit of God with us and in us,[2] is it possible for us to have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters?
Although He will never forsake us,[3] have we forsaken Him?
Return, return, return . . . it is the sustained note of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Will it resonate with you today? Will you determine to return today?
Perhaps you have been here before and said with the hymnwriter –
I’ve wandered far away from God,
Now I’m coming home;
The paths of sin too long I’ve trod,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Coming home, coming home,
Nevermore to roam;
Open wide Thine arms of love;
Lord, I’m coming home.
I’ve wasted many precious years,
Now I’m coming home;
I now repent with bitter tears,
Lord, I’m coming home.[4]
You came home, but you didn’t return to the Father. Leaving behind the sin and idols, you returned to the “life of a Christian”. You were among the Christians again, singing the hymns and listening to the sermons. It lasted for a while until you strayed again. You came “home”, but you didn’t return to the Father.
Make no mistake, the pathway back from rebellion and idolatry leads to a person, not a place.
Certainly, all the idolatry and pride must be forsaken on that return journey,[5] but if we don’t reach the destination of repentance we will never have truly returned.
We must return to the Lord.
“If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return”
(Jeremiah 4:1 ESV).
[1] Luke 15:11-32
[2] John 14:17
[3] Hebrews 31:5
[4] William J. Kirkpatrick, pub.1892
[5] Jeremiah 4:1-4
