Generosity of God

The Christian Community Comes Alive
Seeds of New Growth

From Derbe to Philippi

Ezekiel 36:22-30  The Message

^22-23 “Therefore, tell Israel, ‘Message of God, the Master: I’m not doing this for you, Israel. I’m doing it for me, to save my character, my holy name, which you’ve blackened in every country where you’ve gone. I’m going to put my great and holy name on display, the name that has been ruined in so many countries, the name that you blackened wherever you went. Then the nations will realize who I really am, that I am God, when I show my holiness through you so that they can see it with their own eyes.
^24-28 “‘For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!

^29-30 “‘I’ll pull you out of that stinking pollution. I’ll give personal orders to the wheat fields, telling them to grow bumper crops. I’ll send no more famines. I’ll make sure your fruit trees and field crops flourish. Other nations won’t be able to hold you in contempt again because of famine.

 

For Reflection 

If our God were a god of vengeance and retribution, God may have just given up and in anger wiped Israel off the face of the map.  However, our God is not a god of retributive justice.  Our God is a god of reconciliation.  Our God always enacts a plan that, in the end, will enhance the opportunity for all people to experience God's saving grace.

Pray

prayers of praise for the God of infinite grace.  Pray for those who reject God's invitation to grace.  Pray that they recognize that they are never are never out of favor with God.  Give thanks to the God who abandons no one.