“and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
The book of Ezekiel teaches us that weeping and grieving over detestable acts is an indicator that your heart belongs to God.
That is an interesting statement since some churches today won’t even use the word “sin,” much less grieve over it. Our society not only tolerates detestable things, we normalize and encourage them.
What has my reaction been to the sins that are so prevalent today? At times I have been disgusted, offended, and even judgmental. But I am not sure I grieve over them.
What about you - Do you ridicule those trapped in sin? Do you roll your eyes and have contempt for them? …or do you weep over the souls imprisoned in wickedness?
If you ridicule, it means you have forgotten where you came from… Mocking those stuck in sin indicates you have forgotten being stuck there yourself.
If you normalize and accept their sin it means you have decided that the endorsement of men is more important than the approval of God.
People who are trapped in sin should definitely see a reaction from us, but it should not be approval, contempt, or anger … It should be broken heartedness.
If we love people who are involved in something that is destroying them, we should grieve, and grief should drive us to our knees. Mocking and arguing will not change a heart – but persistent prayer will… and prayer is the powerful response that God expects of us.
So, if an angel were to go through our city today and designate those who grieve over sin – would I be marked?... would you?
Jesus was clear that sin leads to pain, death, and eternal separation from God. It is not something to be discounted, amused by, or ignored.
Pointing out sin may not be applauded, but not warning others is callous and unloving. We must call sin what it is…and weep over its destructiveness. The world will only know the amazing value of redemption by realizing the obscene filth from which we have been redeemed.
“The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.” - George Bernard Shaw
No comments:
Post a Comment