“The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised
robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy; yea, they have oppressed the
stranger wrongfully.
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the
hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy
it: but I found none”
- Ezekiel 22: 29-30
The above verses are usually referred to when talking about
God’s search for intercessors. But as I read this again, I got a fresh understanding
of God’s love for man. It is a truth that every word of God to man reflects his
love in its entirety one way or the other. In the text above, the people had
sinned against God and he had every right to wipe them out, he would be right
if he destroyed them. It would be justice if he punished them severely for what
they had done. The depth of their sins was very much. But instead, God went
further to search for a man who would make up the hedge, who would serve as an
ambassador and plead for them that he would not destroy them. Now notice that
God did not search for this man from a different nation or people, he “sought
for a man among them”.
Now you would
also want to consider why God still had to search for someone in the midst of
these ‘sinful’ people. He was not happy with them, but he still believed
something good could come out of them. Even if at the end of the search he
found none, he at least made an attempt to search for an iota of good among
them. God doesn’t just leave us like that; he doesn’t give up on us for any
reason. In fact we are the ones who give up on ourselves and on others, even
while God still searches for the good in us.
How do we relate with others as
Christians? How do you see that drunkard that lives at your back yard? What do
you say of that prostitute down your street? Have you already marked them for
hell? Have you started visualizing them burning in the lake of fire even when
they are still on earth? 2Peter 3:9 says: “The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing
that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. If God can be longsuffering, not
willing that any should perish, if he still searches for a good man in the
midst of a perverse and corrupt nation, what stops us from doing the same?
No
matter how dark the cloud is, there is always a beam of sunlight behind it.
Search out that sunlight. Believe me there is good in every man. Before
condemning any person, why not at least present a solution to such a person;
Jesus is the way. Your criticism is not, your self-righteousness is not, and
your track record is not. Let us learn to search out the image of God in every
man and by doing this, we are at least moving forward in our mandate to be perfect
just like our father; God.
Have a nice day!
Please don't just leave; leave a comment...
No comments:
Post a Comment