Jeremiah 2:1-13

... Thus says the Lord: I remember the devotion of your youth, your
love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not
sown. (2:2)

Ages after the Exodus, God is still wondering where we went.

With God’s help, our ancestors traveled through pits and darkness,
across deserts and rivers. But when they arrived at their hoped-for
destination, they made a mess of it all. Faced with the promise of
life, they ran away, chasing “worthless things.”

It’s easy to focus on that mess—in our lives and in the world.
The news tells us about life gone wrong. In Lent, too, our self examination
can reveal addictions and wounds and injustices, and
our still-pointless search for worthless things.

But God remembers when we were faithful, when we did follow,
when our love was pure and strong.

Can we remember, too?

—Josh Thomas