A Community Project

I have been reading the book of Judges and one thing stands out to me: the Israelities never grew weary of doing evil and God never grew weary of saving them. Over and over again the author of Judges writes “the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1). Because of their disobedience, God sold them into long periods of oppression, sometimes lasting 40 years. But with every oppressor, God raised up a Judge to save His people and lead them into righteousness. Where did the people’s evil begin? In chapter 2, verse 10: “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.” Walking with God is a community project. I need you in my walk with God as much as you need me. And you need your brother or sister in Christ as much as they need you. We need to challenge one another to know the Lord, to fight idolatry and pride, to not give in to apathy. We need to encourage one another with God’s character–gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love. The key to walk with God in 2013 is not to feel better about ourselves…but to think better about God. So let’s help each other do that.