The Two-Way Heart

“Of course, I love God with all my heart. Who else could I love so much but God?” These are our words and thoughts. They’re good thoughts. They sound even better.

“Have you not just now called to me, ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth – will he be angry forever, will he be indignant to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken, but you have done all the evil that you could.” (Jer 3:4,5)

The prophet Jeremiah dealt with people who spoke words like we speak. They said to God, “My father, you are the friend of my youth.” they clearly expressed their love for God.

But now, their land was about to be taken over by foreigners. This was truly a fearful experience. They don’t have any hope for a normal life. They knew the experiences of other nations, and they knew what horror awaits them.

Yet they could not imagine that such horrible things would happen to them. After all, they were the people of God. They were God’s chosen people out of all the nations on the earth. Such terrible things could not happen to them.

Their hearts were devoted to God, but their actions proved the opposite. They worshipped God in the temple with all the sacrificial requirements but continued with their evil practices. They were known as the people who worshipped Yahweh, but they didn’t live like the people of Yahweh.

Their heart was a two-way heart. One part was devoted to God and the other part simply deviated to their own ways. You simply couldn’t predict which way they would turn.

But did God love them? Of course, they were loved by God. The promises to their forefathers still held value. This is why God brought correction to them. He sent them away for 70 years because of God’s love for them.

God just could not tolerate a two-way heart. He wants them to be devoted to him only. A one-way heart was what God expected.
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