I read in Ezekiel this morning. It shows great symbolism in how God saved Israel and raised her into a beautiful queen. God rescued her. She was abandoned as a newborn. Still covered in blood from her birth, no one even bothered to clean her up. God found her and cared for her, and adorned her with precious gifts and jewels. What was left on the ground as worthless was transformed by God into royalty; into someone who was priceless. If only the story ended there...
All of the love and the blessing they received was out of the relationship they had with God. They turned from God and worshiped idols, and commit terrible sins. Worse sins than Sodom. With great blessing comes great responsibility. We must be able to manage the freedom, power, and relationship that God gives us. A huge part of that is remembering what God has done for us and where he has brought us from.
-Ezekiel 16:22 2 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood.
Israel forgot who loved them when they were nothing, and forgotten by the rest of the world. They forgot the one that brought them to the place of prosperity. People deal with blessing in different ways. Some people in their walk with God choose to stay in the state they were when God found them. They refuse to seek or accept anything good from God. Their life is lived barley getting by. They have no authority, no power, and no blessing other than the gift of eternal life. Others step out of the old life and into the new, but never learn responsibility. They take the blessings, and don't know how to handle them. Like the person who has been poor there whole life and then wins the lottery. They spend every penny and don't plan for the future. Soon they are more poor than before they won the lottery. They get so caught up in the the here and now that they have forgotten where they came from. This is what happened to Israel. I was taught when I was little, to work for things, because then you will appreciate them more. And there is definitely some truth to that. While we do contend for things in prayer, we always get far more than we have earned. It's called grace, and living in a world of grace requires great maturity.
We are responsible for the way we manage the resources that God gives us. No blessing is greater than the blessing of relationship with the creator. This relationship must continually be cultivated and poured into. Not just so God stays happy, and not so we can get what we want. Here is the deal... God is all powerful - all knowing - and is everywhere at the same time. pretty impressive huh? What I think is more impressive is how he completes us. Everywhere that we fall short in our own abilities is where there is a piece of God that can fit into your life and make it whole. And that is not just a spot here or a couple spots over there. Its everywhere. It is how it was always supposed to be! It is unnatural for us not to have God. He is not an add-on to your life. He is the critical part in the core of your being. He is a perfect fit, and when we are together a new world is before us, with rules that are different than the world we came from. It is realm where anything is possible. It is a place where dreams are not only dreamed, but fullfilled. It is our job to explore and learn and enjoy, but never forgetting where we came from or how we got where we are. Stay aware of your past, but don't live in it!
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