Readings for today: Ezekiel 12:1-14:11, Hebrews 7:1-17, Psalms 105:37-45, Proverbs 27:3
One of the strangest things about being a prophet in the Old Testament is the number of times God uses their lives to illustrate His coming judgment. Jeremiah wore a ruined loincloth, broke a flask, and bought a field in the midst of a siege. Each action an embodiment of God’s judgment or salvation. Hosea married a prostitute and gave his children terrible names like “not loved” and “not my people” to illustrate the faithless nature of Israel. Ezekiel lay on his side for hundreds of days, cut off his hair and his beard, and packed a bag for exile to communicate God’s righteous judgment on His people. Can you imagine God commanding you to do the same? What would that even look like in our world today?
Thankfully, you and I don’t have to imagine. Our call is not to embody God’s judgment. Christ perfectly satisfied the demands of God’s justice on the cross. He turned away God’s wrath from our sin. He took on Himself the punishment we deserved. He became the embodiment of sin in order to win our salvation. So unlike the prophets of old, we no longer have to walk around naked, shave our heads, marry prostitutes, or do anything else to communicate God’s judgment on our friends and neighbors.
Instead, we are called to embody the gospel. We are called to make our lives a living demonstration of God’s grace. We are called to love our neighbors. Pray for our enemies. Preach to the lost. Care for the poor. We are called to be humble and meek. Peacemakers in a violent and angry world. We are called to tear down every wall that divides us one from another whether it be politics, race, sexuality, or any other high thing that would set itself up against the Kingdom of God. The resources God gives us to accomplish this great task are prayer, fasting, meditation on God’s Word, corporate worship, preaching, participation in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and a host of other things the people of God have done down through the ages to remind themselves of God’s abiding presence and power in their lives.
So how are you proclaiming Christ with your life? Do the people around you recognize Christ’s presence in you? Do they hear from you the good news of the gospel? How will you seek to bring glory to your Savior today?
Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 14:12-16:41, Hebrews 7:18-28, Psalms 106:1-12, Proverbs 27:4-6