Have you ever roasted a turkey and then cooked down the remaining carcass to make soup? After it has boiled down, you take the bones out and set them aside to cool so that you can pull off any remaining meat without scalding your fingers. The bones become very dry when they are completely cooled down and often they have fallen apart in the process. Can that pile of dry bones ever become a living turkey again? Even if you put the bones back together in the correct way, how would you get all the ligaments, tendons, muscles, skin etc back together? And ultimately, how would you bring it to life? Worse yet, could the turkey get itself back together and back to life? Of course not!
It is the same with us. Once we die and our bodies are put in the ground and decay sets in, there is no hope for any return to being a living being on this earth. It is also true of our spiritual selves. When we sin, we are totally dead in our trespasses, just dry spiritual bones remain. This includes when we commit what we consider tiny little sins, like "white lies" or "a little envy", as well as huge immoral acts, murder, massive addictions, etc. We cannot do anything to put ourselves back together and repair our relationship with God. All the good works or amends or charity we do avail us nothing. Only God can bring us back to life.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
We are celebrating Pentecost in our church this weekend, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples as tongues of fire after Jesus had ascended into heaven. One of the lessons was Ezekiel 37:1-14, about the dry bones scattered in the desert, and how God told him to prophesy to the bones. They all came back together and formed into bodies and flesh reappeared, but they were still dead. The Spirit had to be breathed back into them, then they lived again. Without God, the Father who created us, the Son who redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit who creates faith in us, we would still be dead like those dry bones in the desert.
"Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord." Ezekiel 37:13-14 NIV
Prayer: Thank you dear God in heaven for creating, redeeming and sanctifying my life. On this day especially I thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit, who creates faith in me and allows me to witness that to the world. I am totally unable to change my life or even be alive without you, and I am ever grateful that you have done that for me. Please help me to continue to walk in your ways to the glory of your holy name. AMEN.
written by Jan Andersen
No comments:
Post a Comment