A faithful community?
Israel began as God's chosen people. They were given the great blessing of His Word and His care. The Messiah was born among the people of Israel. But were they a faithful community? In Exodus, we are told about great worship experiences and also grumbling and idolatry. In Judges, the cycle of sin, crying out to God, deliverance, then brief periods of obedience happens over and over for the nation. God does something amazing and they worship and "get it together" to follow Him obediently. But then, life happens and they get apathetic. They don't teach their children to worship. And they fall into sin. What about us? Are we a faithful community? Or do we just have great worship experiences on Sundays and then live the rest of the week our own way? It's easy to see Israel's problem, but it's a lot like their speck and our plank (Matthew 7:4-5). Faithfulness is an always thing. And it is ...