Rock Faces

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

"O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, but they have not grieved; You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, "Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they do not know the way of the LORD, the judgment of their God. I will go to the great men and speak to them, for they have known the way of the LORD, the judgment of their God." But these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds. Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; a leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many; their backslidings have increased" (Jeremiah 5:3-6).

It is hard to understand why people cling to sin so firmly when it is clear to everyone, including the sinners, that it is harming them. Jeremiah thought it must be because the people didn't know what they were doing and didn't know what the result of their sins would be. That is until he found out that "smart" people were being just as rebellious.

This verse caught my eye because I remember the set of your face when you announced you were going back. You knew you were choosing addiction over freedom even at that time. Oh, I know you said you would try to stop using, but you and I both know you were lying -- more to yourself than to me. It was the hardness of your face that your mother and others commented on the first few weeks after your return, so I'm not the only one to notice.

Things have been getting progressively harder on you. Thankfully your rock face has cracked. But like Jeremiah, I wonder why you refuse to return. Will you hang on until your addiction destroys you?

There is a way out. I'm just waiting for my dear friend to turn back to his friends.