Faint for Thirst

I was excited to be at Bugby U-Pick for the first tomatoes of the season. When we got out of the car and looked out over the tomato field, the plants looked green and healthy. The tomatoes were red and plentiful. "There are not a lot of ripe ones yet," the farmer told us as we walked up.

"What? Look at them!"

"Those are false ripe. The dry spell in May caused a rot which makes them look ripe, but they are actually spoiled." Sure enough, when we got into the rows of plants, dozens and dozens of red tomatoes had been picked and cast aside due to the rot on the bottom of the fruit.

Dry seasons are hard on people, too. Amos foretold of a dry season when hearing the words of the Lord would be rare. People would wander about, trying to find "water," but would remain parched. "In that day the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint from thirst." I believe that describes the condition of our day. People - especially young people - are wandering about, seeking something that will quench their thirst. They come upon first one thing and then another, only to discover that the ideas, the philosophies, the lifestyles that look so beautiful are full of rot and decay.

How long must we go on in this condition? Notice that the prophet did not say a drought of the words of the Lord, but of hearing the words of the Lord. The problem is us. God is speaking. Are we hearing?