Who He is and how great He is, only He knows. But since He is our God, though invisible to us, He must yet be besought by us, often besought...

  - Columbanus, Sermon I  (Irish, 7th century)

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

  - Hosea 10.12

It will do no good for us to seek the Lord unless we are seeking Him for the right reasons.

Some seek the Lord for peace. Others desire deliverance from some problem or trial, or to attain some hoped-for blessing or boon.

Hosea says that we must seek Him for righteousness. In order to do that, we must sow righteousness into our lives, and prepare the soil of our souls to receive the teaching of righteousness that comes from the Lord's Word.

The Spirit is the agent of transformation unto righteousness in our souls. He works with the Law of God (Ezek. 36.26, 27) to clothe us with the righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3.12-18). Unless we are sowing the Law into our hearts, minds, and consciences, we cannot expect to realize the righteousness of God.

If we are not seeking such a harvest, then, of course, it doesn't matter if we are not sowing the holy and righteous and good Law of God into our lives (Rom. 7.12). But if we are not seeking such righteousness, then we are seeking God for the wrong purpose, and we can have no assurance of finding Him.

God promises that we will find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts (Jer. 29.11ff.). But seeking the Lord and finding Him means finding righteousness - Christlikeness in all our words and deeds.

Jesus fulfilled the Law. He told us to obey and teach it (Matt. 5.17-19). John says that if we are Jesus' disciples we will walk in the path of the commandments, as He did (1 Jn. 2.1-6).

Are you seeking the Lord? Are you seeking Him by sowing His righteous Law into your soul? If we will not sow righteousness, we cannot expect God's love; if we do not desire righteousness above all else, then we are seeking the Lord in vain.

What is the greatest need on the part of contemporary Christians?

That they should seek the Lord for righteousness.

Will you?

Today at The Fellowship of Ailbe

In the Gates - The Law of God is of much help in outlining the life of spiritual discipline.

Kingdom Civics - What is the Good News of the Kingdom?

The Law of God - We have prepared a handy compilation of the commandments, statutes, and precepts of the Old Testament Law which you can use to add daily meditation in God's Law to your spiritual disciplines. Order your copy today.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.