Poplar Springs Seventh-day Adventist^® School

Scripture: For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: "Seek Me and live; Amos 5:4 (NKJV)

Observation: The Israelites were very proud of being God’s chosen people and displayed their pride by flocking to the religious places of worship, especially at festival times. This may have impressed the nations around them but God saw through their insincerity. He knew that it was all worthless show. In these two verses, Amos highlights three places of historical and religious significance: Bethel, Gilgal and Beersheba. Although these were popular places of worship which drew crowds of worshipers, those who visited them were just going through the outward motions of faith instead of seeking the Lord from the depths of their heart. 
But even as Amos speaks of destruction, it is amazing that God still urges the people to seek his grace and mercy, just as the Lord encouraged the church at Sardis to turn to him (Rev. 3:2–3). All he requires of his people is that they will come to him, and they will live, and not die. Later, through the prophet Ezekiel, God cries out to His people: 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live! Ezekiel 18:31-32 (NKJV). While looking at the city of Jerusalem many years later Jesus would also cry out, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Matthew 23:37 (NKJV)
Things are not that much different today. Many people go to great lengths to try to gain God’s attention. In my homeland of Colombia, in the capital city of Bogotá, there is a mountain above the city (part of the Andes mountains). On top of this mountain there is a cathedral built in honor of The Lord of Monserrate (the name of the mountain). The claim is made that The Lord of Monserrate will perform miracles and answer the prayers of those who sacrifice as a pilgrimage to the top of the mountain. Each week you can see people crawling on hands and knees, arriving at the top of the mountain (some 2500 feet above the city) bloodied, scraped, and exhausted, but hoping that their pain and suffering will move the heart of the Lord and He will respond to their pleas for themselves or on behalf of others. In other places, people will fast for many days, recite lengthy prayers, attend hours of religious services, punish themselves physically and even ask to be crucified. They will do these painful acts, and yet they neglect the simple gospel message to ‘seek me and live’ (Amos 5:4). The Lord Jesus Christ makes it clear that all God requires is for people to humble themselves and come to him and find rest (Matt. 11:28).

Application: I think the message from Amos for us today is clear: Don’t simply act religious, but be spiritual. While attending church, praying, reading the Bible, participating in church activities are all important, all those activities are void if they are simply done for show or out of force of habit. Many of us are “cultural” Christians, or Adventists, or whatever denominational background. We grew up in “the faith” and it is the only thing we know. “Doing” all the things mentioned above (and we could mention many others like returning the tithe and giving offerings, fasting, etc.) is almost second nature and we do them at times without even thinking twice about the reasons. But God is not very impressed with any or all of those things is they don’t flow our of a heart that is grounded in love for Him.
So why don’t we begin by taking an inventory of our life and why we do what we do. Are our prayers a quick way to appease God, or our conscience? Or is it a sweet time of communion with our Loving Father? Do we read the Bible in order to learn Bible trivia or to impress God and others? Or do we pause to reflect on God’s message for our lives contained in those simple, yet profound, stories? Why do we attend church and what should be our attitude while there?
Let us seek God and live. Seek God and have life abundant. Seek God and find a new reason for our marriage as a reflection of God’s relationship with His people. Seek God and lead your children to seek Him too. Seek God and share Him with others. Seek God and live!

A Prayer You May Say: Father God, thank you for Your patience with us, that even while we are simply religious, You desire a personal relationship with us and provide us with the opportunities to come to You, to seek You where we can find You.

Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.