Photo by NEOSiAM 2020 on Pexels.com

religious mask

Jeremiah 12:1-4 (JDV)

Jeremiah 12:1 You will be righteous, Lord, even if I bring a case against you. Yet, I wish to contend with you: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all the treacherous living at ease?

Jeremiah 12:2 You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their conscience.

Jeremiah 12:3 As for you, Lord, you know me; you see me. You test whether my heart is with you. Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter and commit them for the day of killing.

Jeremiah 12:4 How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? Because of the evil of its residents, animals and birds have been swept away, because the people have said, “He cannot see what is happening among us.”

religious mask

What Jeremiah could not understand was why all these good churchgoing people kept prospering when he knew their religion was a mask. They had all the outward signs of prosperity and fruitfulness, but he knew they were wicked murderers inside. God was always on their lips but far from their conscience. They claimed to believe in God, but did not really think he could see them.

If you struggle to make your relationship with God a reality, perhaps you wonder sometimes if you are one of them, instead of a true believer. The struggle is a good thing. You should never presume that everything is fine between you and God. Keep fighting for the prize every day. Do not give up. He does see you, and he wants you to live for him, and seek his character. He does not like the mask.

Lord, we want to be real, to remove our mask, and seek you in truth.