Jeremiah 4:1-2
If you return, O Israel,
declares the LORD,
to me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
and do not waver,
2 and if you swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then nations shall bless themselves in him,
and in him shall they glory.”
“If you behave, you will get a treat.” It’s the oldest trick in the parenting book and I never fell for it. I didn’t get many treats as a kid. The old if/then clause is time honored because it is God’s invention and his plan. The covenant with Moses was conditional. If you behave, you will be blessed. Israel didn’t get blessed. They were defeated, taken into captivity, and cursed. They were given a chance by God to make it right, not just for themselves, but as an example for all nations to follow. Israel, like me, said they would behave but God called on them here to be sincere about it and follow it up with action. Jesus called it, “bearing fruit.”
We all know people who call themselves Christians but live lives that are destructive to themselves and their witness. Like Israel, and me, their sincerity is lacking. Jesus calls us to return to God, like the Prodigal Son, to get back out in the field and work for the merciful Father, and to get rid of the idols that made us go astray in the first place.
Then and only then will the nations, those who witness our behavior, see Jesus Christ in action. They will bless and glorify the Lord when we forgive others for sinning against us, when we love others unconditionally, and when we choose not to grieve God with our old life any longer.
You will bear abundant fruit.