Stand Up for God

Our text from Ezekiel today is part of his calling from God to be a prophet to Israel. His call came in Babylon and he served God there. After chapter one’s very vivid description of the approach of God with billowing clouds, lightning, three winged creatures with four faces, a great wheel on the ground, and high above the throne of God. No wonder there has been great speculation about this scene. For Ezekiel it was so frightening that he fell on his face. That is why God tells him to stand up. Note that he was unable to obey this simple command requiring God to stand him on his feet. Then God gave Ezekiel the bad news. God had a job for him. A job that would be difficult, if not impossible. He was to go to the Israelites and remind them of what they had done and why they were living in a foreign land so far away from the one God promised them. Ezekiel met God and was given a task to do. If Ezekiel had a choice I do not believe that he would have chosen the task God gave him. Although reading further in the text we learn that the words that he was to proclaim to the people were given to him by God – symbolized by God giving him a scroll which he ate. 

Fortunately for Ezekiel he was not judged on whether or not the people listened to him. His task was to proclaim God’s word. While his task was difficult he was not required to make them listen which might have been an impossible task. All this is a reminder that we all are called to some task in the kingdom of God. Unfortunately it does not usually come with billowing clouds, lightning, and four-faced winged creatures. It comes in more subtle and personal ways. Through a question by another, an urge by the Spirit, or any of countless ways. The secret is to be ready when it does come or you just may miss it. I am pretty sure we all miss God’s call many times because we are so often wrapped up in our own wants and desires. God does not stop with only one time and done. God continues to call us into the work of the kingdom. To hear God’s call in the midst of the world’s cacophony we need to continue to prepare ourselves. We do that by prayer, bible study, and devotion. 

I cannot tell you what your task is. I do know that you have a task. For some, like Ezekiel, it is a single task that lasts a lifetime. For others, like Jonah, it was one task (remember how he did not want to perform that task but God kept at him until he did as God asked). What a task to call for a people to repent and they did. For others like Paul that task changed depending upon where he was (to Jews he became a Jew, to Greeks a Greek). But whatever their task was, they answered the call. It was not easy; Paul tells us of a thorn in his side planted by God to remind him that he was not perfect nor always did the right thing. Only the faith given to him by Christ Jesus allowed him to answer God’s call. 

We can hope for no better situation than these examples. We, imperfect as we are, are called by God to build up the Body of Christ by our words and deeds. We are not called to do it alone. We are called to do it as the people of God. Because God calls us, equips us and saved us for our calling we can do it. Together we proclaim the love of God in Christ Jesus.