Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. (Ez 18) Prayer: Jesus I trust in You Thoughts: It is fitting that we encounter this scripture today. At least twice for the week we were challenged to reconcile our troubled relationships. One of the techniques suggested was to include the person in ALL the prayers you prayed for yourself. Of course we may see a change in the person and subsequent to that we may see the blessings and graces we asked for, manifesting in their lives and some of us will be upset or hurt or feel betrayed by God. Some of us would observe that the subject of our prayer seemed to have gotten away without consequence with a significant number of indiscretions and when we commit one it rains down on us, which is what Ezekiel is bringing to light. What we must remember is when we commit sin we imprison ourselves, it does not appear that way because it is pleasurable but when it is kept up for a substantial amount of time you begin to notice. When we notice it we treat with it either going deeper or trying to find a way out. But either way sin has its consequences. These ‘wicked’ persons know the pain and suffering they have faced. So if God celebrates then and presents the consequences that come with the change of behavior, we should be happy. Similarly, when the righteous does wrong and they are met with the consequences of their behavior we should also be happy, because sin tends to be addictive. So just in case the righteous plan to continue doing ‘wicked’ deeds they will think twice. God knows His children and in addition to that He is just, so trust Him to do good by others and do good by you.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 17:55:58 +0000