August 14, 2013

³ Let us acknowledge the Lord;
    let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
    he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
    like the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hosea 6:3

I know I have touched on this before, and most likely will again, but Christianity is not passive.  While our salvation is based on a change in our hearts and minds, the Christian life is one of activity and intentionality.

"Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him."  Hosea 6:3

Merriam-Webster has 4 main definitions for "acknowledge".  All four require an active, intentional mental process:  "to recognize the authority of", "to disclose agreement with", "to express", and "to recognize as genuine".  All four of these require us to make an intellectual decision.  We can choose to acknowledge or refuse to acknowledge.  

The second half of the first sentence of verse 3, "let us press on to acknowledge him" speaks of a on-going desire to acknowledge him.  When I played and coached basketball there would be times when a full-court press was the defensive strategy of choice.  This was a defense where the offensive players were guarded all over the court.  No matter where the opposing team was, a defender was close by.  It was relentless.  It was tiring.  But more times than not, it was effective.

Our desire to acknowledge God in our lives should be just as relentless.  Constant.  Intentional.

I believe that too often we go to God just wanting good feelings.  Happy, happy.  Joy, joy.  But Christ prayed with such intensity "his sweat was like drops of blood".

Do we "press" to know God better?  Is our prayer life physically draining?  Perhaps not every time, but frequently?

"Let us PRESS on to acknowledge him."