Ezekiel the prophet is known for many things, but one of his most popular moments is his vision of the wheels. Here is this strange vision from heaven with four strange looking creatures and a great chariot of fire in the sky. This is not about UFO's or aliens. Ezekiel is giving this strange and powerful vision of God to broken people in exile. The vision is scary, difficult and not safe or comfortable. One of the greatest challenges for the church today is to regain a sanctified imagination and have a scriptural vision from God once again.
If Ezekiel vison means anything, it means God is on the move. God can not be tamed or domesticated or pushed to the fringes of society. Even when the world pressures God's people to conform and act like everybody else, the powerful Spirit of God is moving us to sweet surrender to build into us a daring and bold faith.
Ezekiel name literally means "God strengthens." We can do nothing on our own without the help of the Holy Spirit of God. The book of Ezekiel wants to strip us of all our self-sufficiency, our pride, our self-righteous illusions. We are to no longer be preoccupied with self but only with God. When this happens, compassion for others leads to sacrificial service and giving.
The whirlwind of conflict and social upheaval is all around us. Just this past week I dealt with marital strife among couples, children in jail, and attempted suicide, a child in critical condition, and a family whose father is in a coma. We live in a world of chaos and deception. God is on the move and sometimes in the most unusual ways. One family prayed their teenage creating havoc would get help and their child got arrested. It may not have been the way this family thought God would answer the prayer but now that child is actually getting some help.
Do we choose the path of least resistance or do we take the fiery path of God to places of the unfamiliar? The book of Ezekiel not only calls us to a higher vision of God but it also transforms God's people into a new creation. All the sudden justice issues really matters and are not just ideas to share and talk about. When it comes to standing up for the poor and powerless against the bullies and powerful of the world, it is easier to stay out of the fight, back away, and become cowards. The Bible will not leave us where we are or let us easily off the hook. Are we resisting the empire and the status quo or are we inadvertently supporting them? When I pray for peace, am I also working for justice?
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