Caribbean Moravian Devotions

From the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. Jeremiah 6:13-14

Jeremiah peered over the edge of the gulf created between his people and God. It was a giant wound that they thought to cover with a quick fix. They had forgotten God and turned to their own desires. Sadly even those authoritative figures in the church are indicted of this sinfulness. Even sadder was the fact that these unfaithful people were full of false hope. Jeremiah pointed out to them that the approaching Babylonian army was GodÂ’s hand against them for their evil deeds. They would pay dearly for their sin. Nothing they sought to do at this last moment would help. Last moments can help in some cases, but I wouldnÂ’t advise anyone to wait for the last moment when it comes to securing their salvation. Half-truths bring false hope and lead to certain disappointment and disruption.

Our text could well have been describing the 1980s that some psychiatrists and sociologists dubbed "The Lite Decade." We are still going after lightness in everything from our beer to our personal relationships. We can now get our great literary classics edited into ten minutes on audio cassette. Who cares about the weightiness of these masterpieces? It's lightness we're after. It was lightness that the false prophets were after. They said, "Peace, peace," when there was no peace. The message of peace should bring hope. In 1940, Neville Chamberlain was forced to resign as prime minister of Great Britain. His message had been that "we have achieved peace in our time." Yet even as he spoke, Adolph Hitler's sinister plans were pushing the world over the brink of war. We have seen many peace treaties signed only for the parties to engage in war after a while. There are times when we heal the wound of our people lightly but it never lasts for long. There can be no true and lasting peace without Jesus Christ. Indeed the prophet Isaiah tells us that He shall be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9: 6. We also read in Ephesians 2, For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility. Friends false hope and half-truths separate us from God and from each other. Let us therefore be honest in our dealings with each other and thus truthful in our commitment to God.

Till next Tuesday, be blessed!