Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12
The judgment of God was falling upon the tribes of Israel. And in the midst of all the descriptions of sins and impending judgments a call to personal holiness emerges. Its simple and profound and for our day too. Each of us can sow righteousness and in doing so, we will reap God’s unfailing love (and probably a fair amount of love from other people). We are to prepare our lives for the Lord in the same way a farmer would prepare a field. There is an urgency to our action, for today is the day of salvation, and now is the time to seek the Lord. There is a persistence as well. We are to do it until He recompenses us with showers of his righteousness upon us. In other words, until the imputed righteousness of Christ is evident in our lives. Fascinating!
How about me? Am I sowing righteousness in word, thought and deed? Am I doing the right things in right and God-honoring ways? How shall I break up the unplowed ground of my life in preparation for God’s working in me?
Lord, I get the sense that there is some ground ready to bear the seeds of fruit. I admit I have let some ground that could grow a harvest (by Your will) go fallow. I am making it ready. I think about what I must share with my fellow ministers tomorrow and I want Your words and Your power to meet their deepest needs. Shower Your righteousness upon us.
