Pastor Joe Miller IV
When my kids were at home we had a saying “No work. No eat.” Because we owned property and had gardens and animals, there was always something to do. In the fall was leaf time which the kids hated, but they were more hungry than lazy so one of their chores was to rake leaves. I was watching one day, as they finished raking and as they were coming into the house to tell me they did a good job, a gust of wind kicked up and completely covered what they had done. They were so disappointed that their hard work was for naught. When they came into the house, their countenance was low like they had failed, but I sat them down and let them know this never had anything to do with the leaves but everything to do with our relationship. Obedience and the relationship with their dad was what it was all about.
Our church had a Ladies Conference scheduled last week, and an unbelievable amount of time and money was invested in this great annual event, all to have it cancelled the day before. You can only imagine the disappointment and discouragement. But I am picturing our Heavenly Father looking down at us and saying, “It was never about a Ladies Conference, but about My relationship with My kids and their relationships with each other.”
Ezekiel was a prophet and a priest who had a special, important relationship with God. As every child of God does.
1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
He found himself in a situation commissioned by God.
Ezekiel 2:3-4, “And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiff hearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.”
But I love what God says to Ezekiel in verses 5 and 7, ”whether they will hear or whether they will forbear.” In other words, don’t you worry about how they respond in a sense. You just tell them ‘thus saith the Lord.’ The personal relationship we have with God is priority. All communities (all churches) are only as healthy as each individual’s obedience and love for God is lived out. “Love each other and let me (God) worry about how they will respond.” In these dark and difficult days we are living in, we find opportunities to share the love and peace of God that we did not have yesterday. Let’s let our light shine.