Readings for today: Ezekiel 17-20
Today’s reading poses a very important question. Actually, it’s more of an accusation. “You say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.” (Ezekiel 18:25) If we’re honest, this is a question we’ve all asked at one time or another. Perhaps even an accusation we’ve leveled at God at different points of our lives. Frankly, this isn’t new. God’s people have been wrestling with God over this issue for centuries. They look at their history. They look at their circumstances. They ponder their suffering. Because of the difficulties they face in their lives, they wonder how God could allow such things to happen. They wonder how a good God could allow evil to flourish. They wonder how a loving God could stand by and watch His people endure such pain. They wonder how a gracious God could be so demanding. I hear it all the time and I sympathize for I’ve wrestled deeply with this issue myself.
Here’s the hard but honest truth. From the very beginning, we’ve been avoiding the responsibilities that come with being made in God’s image and being given a mandate to care for all creation. Instead of humbly acknowledging the ways we have failed, we too often try to find someone else to blame. Instead of looking in the mirror and coming to grips with the depths of our self-centeredness, we look to God and try to blame-shift. We seek an escape from the natural consequences of our sinful behavior by pretending the issue is somehow with God...“He made me this way”, “He set up the world like this”, “He is the one who allows evil to flourish...”
God will have none of it. “Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?” (Ezekiel 18:25-29) God makes it very clear that He will not allow us to skirt our responsibilities. Our sin is the root of the evil we see in the world. Our rebellion is the reason for our difficult circumstances. Our refusal to follow the ways of God is why we face such suffering and hardship with so little hope. It is not God’s arm that is shortened or God’s strength that has failed or God’s justice that has let us down. The failure is our own.
Thankfully, God is merciful. He is gracious. He loves us despite our sin. Listen to His words from Ezekiel 18 and be encouraged. “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.” Your soul is God’s. Whether you believe or disbelieve. Whether you are good or evil. Whether you feel worthy or unworthy. Your soul is God’s. He holds you in His hand. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” You are only responsible for you. You are not responsible for the sins of your parents or friends or extended family. You are not at the mercy of your family’s dysfunction or the baggage from your broken history. You are not simply the product of your genetic makeup. If you are a Christian, you are a rational, spiritual creature who is endowed by Christ with His Spirit to make godly choices. “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” God doesn’t delight in your pain. God is not immune to your suffering. God does not derive a sadistic pleasure from the death of anyone, including the wicked. He loves everyone He made in His image and desires all to be saved and come to a knowledge of His truth. "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live." What God desires is NOT perfection but repentance. Humility rather than pride. A broken and contrite heart, God will never despise.
Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 21-24