“I will darken the bright stars overhead and cover your land in darkness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (Ezekiel 32:8 NLT)
Do you ever mourn for lost people? Does the thought of a loved one or friend going to hell fill your heart with grief and bring tears to your eyes? It does mine. Sometimes there’s such a darkness that fills my soul that it literally is hard for me to function. Having walked with the Lord for so long it’s incomprehensible to me why someone would trade heaven for hell, forgiveness for condemnation, the Light of life for darkness.
In the verses of Ezekiel 32 the Lord shares with Ezekiel the fate of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. In verse 2 the Lord literally asks Ezekiel to “mourn for Pharoah, king of Egypt, and give him this message.” The message was of his impending doom and destruction. It was the truth, but it was very dark, filled with despair and hopelessness.
We invited friends to come to church with us on Christmas Eve last year and afterward one of our guests made the comment that she thought the Pastor’s message was “dark.” It set me aback as I love the message of Christ’s birth, in anticipation of His sinless life, death, and resurrection, knowing that apart from His sacrifice we’d all be hopelessly lost forever.
The pastor had simply shared the fate of lost people and our state, in this life and the next, apart from the Lord’s saving grace. It wasn’t graphic, in the sense of being something that would purposely induce fear, but honest, straightforward truth from God’s Word.
Ron Hutchcraft said in a recent broadcast: “Some of us live like the truth will scare us to death or hurt too much. But it can’t hurt nearly as much as avoiding the truth about yourself – that truth that continues to poison your relationships, or limit your life, and bring you down. Someone listening today has been running from your mirrors, even trying to break your mirrors by shooting them down. But God put those people in your life because He loves you too much to let you keep running from the truth that is costing you so much.”
Do you realize how vitally important the “mirror” of your life is as a Jesus follower? Ideally, the light of our lives as believers in Jesus, shines into the darkness of this world and into the lives of those whose lives are being lived apart from His saving grace. Perhaps you’re reading this today and you’re not yet a Jesus follower.
Maybe the darkness of the truth of why Jesus died confuses or confounds you because you view yourself as a good person. On many levels that may be true, but please let the knowledge of what Jesus did, drive you to a point of yielding your life and allegiance to Him. You need to allow the darkness of your own soul to awaken you to your need to repent (turn from your sin) and receive the gift of eternal life that only Jesus can give you.
Why is that so vital to understand? Because the Truth of who Jesus is and what He did for us, is our only avenue of forgiveness from sin and the hope of eternal life. Jesus is the embodiment of all Truth, which means it’s impossible for Him to lie. The truth is we’re all sinners whose lives are hopelessly leading to an eternal death, separation from the sanctuary of God’s presence, for all eternity, unless and until we open our lives to Jesus.
I implore you to come to Him today! Click the highlighted link and find out for yourself how to know you’re forgiven of all your sin and on your way to a life of peace and joy in Jesus. Ron Hutchcraft’s Bridge to God illustration.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 