Readings for today: Ezekiel 17-20
“Whoever told you life was fair?” I cannot tell you the number of times I heard this phrase growing up. I would get angry because of some perceived favoritism whether it was from my parents at home or a teacher at school or a boss at work and I would argue with them that “it wasn’t fair.” My brothers got a toy I didn’t get. A classmate achieved a higher grade that I felt I deserved. A fellow employee got a bonus and I did not. It wasn’t fair in my mind and it frustrated the heck out of me. Interestingly enough, Israel makes the same argument against God in our reading for today. In Ezekiel 18, they accuse God of not being fair. They accuse Him of punishing them for the guilt of their ancestors. They accuse Him of unjustly sending them into exile. But God makes it plain that He holds each person accountable for their own sin. He refuses to punish a child for a parent’s action nor does He punish a parent for a child’s behavior. He sees all and knows all and preserves the lives of those who act righteously while taking the lives of those who act unrighteously.
“Do I hear you saying, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair!’? “Listen, Israel. I’m not fair? You’re the ones who aren’t fair! If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he’ll die for it. He’ll die for his own sin. Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. Because he faces up to all the wrongs he’s committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won’t die…The upshot is this, Israel: I’ll judge each of you according to the way you live. So turn around! Turn your backs on your rebellious living so that sin won’t drag you down. Clean house. No more rebellions, please. Get a new heart! Get a new spirit! Why would you choose to die, Israel? I take no pleasure in anyone’s death. Decree of God, the Master. Make a clean break! Live!” (Ezekiel 18:25-28, 30-32 MSG)
I can already hear the protests. We all know evil people who live long lives and good people whose lives are cut short. We all know evil people who seemingly get ahead in the world and good people who struggle each and every day. We all know evil people often finish “first” because they are willing to do whatever it takes while good people often finish “last” because they are constrained by their goodness not justify unrighteous means to reach a righteous end. So is God lying here? No, He is not. We must remember God doesn’t operate on our timeline. He has eternity in view. All of us will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. All of us will have to give an account for the way we lived our lives. Not a single person will get a pass. Not a single person will escape this fate. Either we will have lived in such a way that we say “Thy will be done” to God or we will have lived in such a way that He will say “thy will be done” to us. No one will be in heaven who doesn’t want to be and no one will be in hell who hasn’t chosen it. This is what God is talking about when He refers to life and death. It’s about eternal life or eternal death. Which will we choose?
Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 21-24