Returns

2 Chronicles 32:25 ESV

But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore, wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem.

It is not unusual to expect return for our investments, but does God expect return as well? This verse should make it apparent that God indeed does expect something from us, for what he has done for us and given us. The passage above highlights Hezekiah one of the few kings of Judah who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done” yet even he was found wanting. On the brink of death, he is told by the prophet to prepare his house for he will die, then he cries out to God and God heals him promising him an additional 15 years of life. Yet he was deficient in the eyes of God.

His place in God’s favor and his riches quickly lead him to pride in himself and he did not give God the return he desired from Hezekiah. What return was God expecting? What return does God require from him that was deficient? Romans 1:21 gives some insight into what God expects from his people, “For all though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…”. God expects us to Thank HIM for what has transpired, and to honor HIM, for how we have been blessed in this world. Romans continues to describe the moral depravity and blindness that comes from those who do not credit God with what has transpired. Hezekiah’s additional fifteen years led to the birth of the most wicked king Judah had known. This led to the fall of Judah but the chronicler places the blame for the fall of Manasseh and Judah on Hezekiah’s pride, not solely on Manasseh’s wickedness.

Looking at the Holiday we have just concluded and looking towards the Holiday we are drawing near; I must wonder how much of a return God expects for the Gift of his son? A thankful spirit not for worldly wealth, or temporal ease, but for God incarnate, the King of Kings, “born to die that man might live”. I see the ease with which my heart is captured by the spirit of the age. With wealth and purchases flaunted, commercials replete with “you deserve it” adds designed to convince you to buy for yourself too! What place is there for giving God his do? For providing the return of thankfulness and honor to the God who “gave his one and only son” for us.

Even as we celebrate the Hope we have, let us not forget that hope is for a future time, when our eyes glimpse our savior in the air and we rush with bated breath through the air, faster than light itself, to meet our King. With all the blessings of Church and family gathering around tables overflowing with festal cheer, harkening to the great marriage feast of the lamb, our hearts joyful, we must give thanks and honor to the Master of the feast, by whose providence we have been supplied with hope for his coming and our future feast that will reveal our current celebrations to be but crumbs given to dogs. (Matthew 15:27)

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO