Children of the Most High

Today's passage is from Jeremiah 3: 19 - 22
"I myself said, ' How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. I thought you would call me "Father" and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel', declares the Lord. A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the Lord their God. 'Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.' Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God."
As a parent, I wanted my children to know my unconditional love for them, and because I do love them so much, there were times when I had to discipline them when they chose to disobey the guidelines their father and I had set for them. It wasn't a pleasure to give correction to them, but it was for their own good.
This is what the Lord wants from us - as his children, he wants us to listen to him and follow his direction in our daily lives. There are times when we go down a path that is of our own choosing, and we end up in situations that aren't in his plan, and we suffer consequences of trying to do things "our" way.
The Bible is very clear in saying to us that the Lord disciplines those he loves. Proverbs 3:11 says, " My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, for the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in".
He says in today's passage that he will cure us of backsliding, which we all have done at one time or another since becoming believers. He tells us in Isaiah 57: 16, " I have seen his ways, but I will heal him and restore comfort to him." This is one of those that can be on a personal level, as well as a nation, as it was referred to in today's passage about the Israelites.
I feel that our country needs desperately to return to the Lord for his healing of our land. Not everyone in our country are children of the Most High, but for those of us who are, he is calling us to intercede on behalf of our nation and its leaders. We have to "stand in the gap" for those who don't know him, and pray that our nation will get back to its roots of Judeo-Christian principles.