Where the Battle's Lost and Won

"If you will return, O Israel," declares the Lord, "Then you should return to Me." Jeremiah 4:1

At the time of Jeremiah, the ten northern tribes of Israel have already been taken into captivity, and Jeremiah prophecies a similar fate for Judah if she persists in her waywardness. The word "return" in 4:1, therefore, holds a double meaning: If you want to return home, return to me. Home for the Israelites might mean a number of things: the promised land, freedom, a return to a certain way of life, the end of being strangers in a strange land, normalcy -- things for which they might be willing to fight quite apart from God.

Home, for me, means being comfortable in my own skin -- a sense of peace within me, a sense of being loved and accepted as I am, freedom to be and not to act. According to my Hebrew dictionary, the word used for "return" in this verse does not necessarily imply a return to the starting point but rather a retreat from the current pursuit -- turning back, turning away. If you want to go home -- even if you have never been, if you were born in a foreign land and have never known the sense of belonging you seek -- return to God.

Exile for the Israelites -- whether impending or certain -- created the type of climax of which Oswald writes: "Every now and again, not often, but sometimes, God brings us to a point of climax." And what we choose at that climax, according to Oswald, sends us down one of two paths: a marginalized existence or a meaning-filled existence where we "become more and more ablaze for the glory of God -- My Utmost for His Highest."

Oswald also seems to be dealing with the issue of private versus public faith and the importance of fighting our battles before God first. Again, the emphasis seems to be on relationship. My efforts against abortion, homelessness, the disintegration of family, or sin of any kind must stem from a solid understanding between God and me. Otherwise, my efforts are mine alone and of little lasting value.

Barbara