Readings for today: Ezekiel 13-16
I remember trying to paint a fence when I was younger. Rather than do the hard work to prep it by scraping off the old paint and sanding it down so it could receive a new finish, I just tried to slather a thick coat of paint over it with the hopes it would hide the imperfections. The result was a mess, of course. I had just made the job that much harder because I now had to go back and undo all I had done in addition to the original work I should have done so I could get it right.
How often do we make this same mistake in our life with God? Rather than surrender to Him and let His Spirit tear our old lives down to the studs, scraping off all the sin and corruption, and sanding us down to get us ready to receive the new life He offers; we try to justify ourselves by our own effort. We try to sanctify ourselves by trying and working harder. We try to show how virtuous we are by living one way on the outside but refuse to address what’s really going on inside our hearts. The result is a mess. The same thing happens if we try to live a double life. Trying to have it both ways. Loving the things of God and the things of this world. It just doesn’t work and I can’t tell you the number of conversations I’ve had over the years, trying to help people see that simply whitewashing their lives with a little Jesus isn’t what the Christian life is all about. It’s about total and complete surrender.
This isn’t a new problem, of course. Ezekiel faced this same issue when talking with God’s people as they went into exile. They were asking all kinds of hard questions. Why had this happened? How could God let Jerusalem be destroyed? Had God’s promises somehow failed? Had God abandoned them? The answers to these questions were not easy to accept. God was actually behind the destruction of their entire way of life because it had become so corrupt and so sinful, the only solution was to essentially scrape it all and start over. The only way forward to begin anew. “Since the false prophets have led my people astray by saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and since when a flimsy wall is being built, they plaster it with whitewash, therefore, tell those plastering it with whitewash that it will fall. Torrential rain will come, and I will send hailstones plunging down, and a whirlwind will be released. When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, “Where’s the whitewash you plastered on it?” So this is what the Lord God says: I will release a whirlwind in my wrath. Torrential rain will come in my anger, and hailstones will fall in destructive fury. I will demolish the wall you plastered with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. The city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 13:10-14 CSB)
Then you will know that I am the Lord. The ultimate goal of God’s discipline is never destruction but repentance and restoration. God is always faithful. He is faithful in love and He is faithful in justice. He is faithful in grace and He is faithful in law. He is faithful in mercy and He is faithful to call us to account. The Lord disciplines those He loves in order to bring them back into a right and righteous relationship with Himself. Stop trying to whitewash your life. Stop trying wallpaper over your sin. Trust God’s promise. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Readings for tomorrow: No devotionals on Sundays