One Story

Jeremiah 16:14-15 “However, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.

Sometimes it can be difficult to hear good news in the middle of a storm of bad news. Right now about all we hear is COVID-19, and maybe a smattering of how bad the President is, thrown in for good measure. And maybe right now there isn’t much good news! But it won’t always be this way.

And there I go, trying to throw some good news in that you probably won’t hear because you are overwhelmed with the bad news. But it is very important that you hear the good news. It won’t always be this way. Bad things have happened and they have passed.

We tend to lose perspective when all we hear is bad news. When troops are deployed to combat zones, families are often encouraged NOT to listen to the news. This was especially true when we were in the first few years of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Any news about casualties sent shock waves through military communities, until the dreaded two man teams showed up at someone’s door with the bad news.

Jeremiah is having to give some very bad news to Judah. They have ignored the repeated calls from the LORD to return and live faithfully. But like every generation before them, the LORD was faithful while they were unfaithful. That is the story of the Scriptures.

The Scriptures tell one story from beginning to end. That story is how the LORD has a design for His people, and the people of the whole planet. His desire is that everyone live in right relationship with Him and with each other. Part of that plan was that we would rule and reign over this planet, bringing order out of chaos, harmony out of disharmony, peace out of turmoil, healing out of disease.

But as we look around, we don’t see too much order, harmony, peace or healing. This is the story of the Bible. But the often promised hope is that the LORD would send someone to bring that restoration. There was always hope, even in the face of judgment.

That is exactly what Jeremiah tells us here. Right smack dab in the middle of judgment for their rebellion, the same rebellion their ancestors had participated in, the LORD speaks a word of hope. And that word of hope is meant to sustain them in the coming difficult times.

We have a word of hope for us today. We can participate in Jesus’ words that we so often pray. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We can conform our actions and attitudes to be that of the kingdom. And in doing so we are performing the work of the Creator of the Universe.

Then we will be participating as an active partner in the Story of History. This is the purpose for which we were made. And this is the future of everything. Why not go with this flow, rather than going with the world’s flow!