When something is dead, its dead. No more blood pumps through the veins. No more air is pulled into the lungs. No more breath is pushed out of the mouth. The eyes cannot see beauty or the ears hear a whisper. And the nostrils will never again know the smell of bacon cooking in the morning.
Dead
is
dead.
We know what dead looks like. What it smells like.
It’s conditioned in us. We even honor the dead through funerals and wakes and aulogies but when it comes down to brass tacks, we all know that
dead
is
dead.
Sure, the ruler’s daughter, Lazarus, even Jesus all died and came back to life but they were a long time ago and I’ve never seen it happen.
Dead
is
dead.
We know it
We know how to react to it
And for the most part, we know how to move on from it.
This doesn’t just apply when we come across the physical death of people or our animals or our plants.
I think that we are conditioned to believe, think, and act the same way when we come across other types of death.
How many of us know what it is like to have a dream die? Or hope? Or faith?
How many relationships have we watched wither and die?
I know I have been a part of churches that have died.
The signs of death, in all its forms, are all around us. And how many times has our conditioning kicked in that tells us that
Dead
is
dead.
Whether it is a particular relationship, with someone else or maybe even with God, or a piece of our hope or our faith, there is nothing to be done.
Dead
is
dead.
We find Ezekiel in the same position. Surrounded by what was once alive but now not just dead but so dead that the bones were “very dry”.
Then the Lord asks Ezekiel a question (Because God is fond of asking questions). “Can these bones live?”
My first response would probably be- “Are you kidding me?”
Then, “Why would you even want them to live again? What good could come from it even if it could be so?”
-Can this relationship live again?
-Can your hope live again?
-Can your faith live again?
What would our answers be to these questions?
After all,
Dead
is
dead.
And even if it could be so, why would it matter?
But Ezekiel, in all his wisdom, doesn’t really answer God- “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”- That’s pretty smooth.
So the Lord tells Ezekiel to get to work. And pretty amazing things happen. The long dead bones rattle and come together. Muscle and flesh grow over the bones and what was once dead now has the appearance of something alive. But just the appearance.
The work wasn’t done. This state wasn’t good enough.
So the Lord puts Ezekiel back to work. And breath enters the bones and they stand up. That which was dead and gone now stands up and is alive again.
But the work wasn’t done. This state still isnt good enough.
It wasn’t enough that the bones appeared to live. It wasn’t even enough that they lived again.
It’s the same with what we face. It isn’t enough for our relationships to look alive or are even up and walking around.
For God the purpose is to pull those things that were long dead back into a redemptive relationship with him.
We know that God doesn’t bring all of our relationships back or breathe life back into all our sorrows but I wonder how many of those were because we saw reality through our own eyes that believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that
Dead
is
dead.
Let us leave room for God’s redemption, for God to work with us to stitch bone back together. Let us think carefully about the power of our surprising God when he asks us if these bones can live again.
Dead
is
dead.
We know what dead looks like. What it smells like.
It’s conditioned in us. We even honor the dead through funerals and wakes and aulogies but when it comes down to brass tacks, we all know that
dead
is
dead.
Sure, the ruler’s daughter, Lazarus, even Jesus all died and came back to life but they were a long time ago and I’ve never seen it happen.
Dead
is
dead.
We know it
We know how to react to it
And for the most part, we know how to move on from it.
This doesn’t just apply when we come across the physical death of people or our animals or our plants.
I think that we are conditioned to believe, think, and act the same way when we come across other types of death.
How many of us know what it is like to have a dream die? Or hope? Or faith?
How many relationships have we watched wither and die?
I know I have been a part of churches that have died.
The signs of death, in all its forms, are all around us. And how many times has our conditioning kicked in that tells us that
Dead
is
dead.
Whether it is a particular relationship, with someone else or maybe even with God, or a piece of our hope or our faith, there is nothing to be done.
Dead
is
dead.
We find Ezekiel in the same position. Surrounded by what was once alive but now not just dead but so dead that the bones were “very dry”.
Then the Lord asks Ezekiel a question (Because God is fond of asking questions). “Can these bones live?”
My first response would probably be- “Are you kidding me?”
Then, “Why would you even want them to live again? What good could come from it even if it could be so?”
-Can this relationship live again?
-Can your hope live again?
-Can your faith live again?
What would our answers be to these questions?
After all,
Dead
is
dead.
And even if it could be so, why would it matter?
But Ezekiel, in all his wisdom, doesn’t really answer God- “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”- That’s pretty smooth.
So the Lord tells Ezekiel to get to work. And pretty amazing things happen. The long dead bones rattle and come together. Muscle and flesh grow over the bones and what was once dead now has the appearance of something alive. But just the appearance.
The work wasn’t done. This state wasn’t good enough.
So the Lord puts Ezekiel back to work. And breath enters the bones and they stand up. That which was dead and gone now stands up and is alive again.
But the work wasn’t done. This state still isnt good enough.
It wasn’t enough that the bones appeared to live. It wasn’t even enough that they lived again.
It’s the same with what we face. It isn’t enough for our relationships to look alive or are even up and walking around.
For God the purpose is to pull those things that were long dead back into a redemptive relationship with him.
We know that God doesn’t bring all of our relationships back or breathe life back into all our sorrows but I wonder how many of those were because we saw reality through our own eyes that believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that
Dead
is
dead.
Let us leave room for God’s redemption, for God to work with us to stitch bone back together. Let us think carefully about the power of our surprising God when he asks us if these bones can live again.