Truth and simplicity
Zechariah 8: Keep your lives simple and honest.
They’ve been through a terribly hard time but now things are getting better. The 70 year exile is over and the new generation of exiles is returning to Jerusalem. When they arrive they’re overwhelmed by the devastation but the Lord sends leaders and laborers and things are coming together. Stones aren’t the only things being put back into place: the Lord is rebuilding a people to be his very own. Through his prophet, Zechariah, the Lord tells them that he wants them to be truthful people who do the right thing in every situation. His desire is for them to live simple and honest lives. If that’s what God wanted in the lives of these ancient Israelites, it’s most certainly what he wants in the lives of Christians today. I wonder if my life can be described as a “simple life?” What is it that dominates my time? In describing his life, the Apostle Paul begins, “This one thing I do….” Is that something I can honestly say? Even as the people of Israel rebuild their city and Temple, the Lord’s rebuilding a people who’ll live truthfully and simply. How can I better respond to this desire of God for his people?
Take Away: The Lord wants us to be people who live truthfully and simply.