Today along with a little group of people of the church I went to the UCLA book fair, there we saw very interesting things. One of them was a man with an attractive t-shirt that said “atheist” who stopped us and invited us to a conference where the speaker will talk to us about the “foolishness of believing in God” we told him that we were Christians, and it triggered a wonderful conversation of about 10 minutes. Arguments went back and forward, and almost at the end of the conversation I asked the man: what gain have you profited for no believing in God? The man was silent for a while and said “nothing” then I told him why then you want us not to believe in God? More arguments went back and forward but in order to avoid a parking ticket we concluded the conversation.
I think this man in some ways has the same problem that the people of Judah had in Jeremiah’s times. The people from Judah wanted to live without paying attention to God; they actually acted like if there is not God and their lives and business were totally separated from God’s word.
Jeremiah was very clear that punishment will come if they do not repent from their bad deeds. The prophet describes their situation like this: “They know no limits in deeds of wickedness; they do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the cause of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things?”
Even though this was an announcement of judgment, also it was a call for repentance and mercy. The chapters 4-6 are a merciful calling to repentance, but also a precise description of the reasons for the punishment that was about to come.
There is always mercy, but we cannot play with God grace in our lives, as the apostle Paul said it: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow” (Galatians 6: 7)