Simple Faith
“‘“I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel. It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of.”‘”
Today’s Text: Ezekiel 39:1-14 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Following Jesus as Lord and Savior means (1) believing everything that the Bible says is true and (2) doing everything that Jesus tells us to do. Now, doing everything that Jesus tells us to do is not such a straightforward thing, but maybe we make it more difficult than it really needs to be.
Sin makes obedience so complicated, even when obedience itself is quite simple. You learn that in the military. Soldiers are not taught to question. They are taught to follow orders. The military really could not function otherwise. The same is actually true for sports teams. Sports teams won’t win if the players are not following the coaches’ orders.
On the other hand, believing everything that the Bible says is true is really not straightforward at all. People who say that the Bible is easy usually mean that the basic propositions of the gospel are easy to understand. And that’s true enough. Believing the gospel, however, is another matter.
Faith is a conscientious act. And Christian faith is defined by the Bible. It’s pretty astounding how many Christians overlook that fundamental principle. We don’t get to make up a religion by just believing whatever conveniently suits us at any given time, but that’s how some Christians seem to act.
Maybe I’m being too harsh. It’s not that Christians purposefully want to disregard the word of God. Most evangelical Christians would agree that the Bible is the authoritative word of God. But that’s the thing. If the Bible is the authoritative word of God, then the Bible carries a profound weightiness. But many Christians just don’t grasp that weight.
I want to grasp the profound weightiness of the word of God. But I have to confess that passages like this prophecy in Ezekiel are pretty baffling. This passage can be interpreted in a lot of ways. Was it actually fulfilled? Are we still waiting for it to be fulfilled? Or does it speak more to the spiritual realities of our existence? Or does it do all of those things?
I come from the camp which believes that the prophecy covers all those bases. It has been fulfilled; it will be fulfilled; and it speaks to spiritual realities. But it is the spiritual realities that we can grasp with the most certainty. All the nations will know that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of Israel, including Israel. They will know His holy name. And His name will no longer be profaned.
Therefore, I should live out that spiritual reality in my life every day through my simple obedience.
Father, You word is a lamp unto our feet, a light for our path. But I confess that sometimes Your word is difficult to comprehend. Only, let me keep Your word holy in my heart and seek Your will in Your word. Let me not desecrate Your word with my disobedience. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
