"...the Spirit entered him..."

For most of you, this kind of thing is old hat. "Yeah," you say, "I've read the Bible all the way through."

For me, it's a breathtaking adventure, learning how much My Father loves me. It's interesting how it happens, I'm just reading along and all of the sudden POW! a revelation that I am loved!

And not the cheesy red buttons you get at the jewelry store "I am loved" but the remarkable I will give you everything you need to live and love and celebrate the life and creation I've given you kind of love.

Now, how does this connect to Ezekiel? Well, I'll tell it this way. I have been trying to change the 'why' behind my writing. I didn't want to write solely from a sad, dark, lonely place anymore, so I tried something new this week. As I was reading Ezekiel I wrote down what struck me from the material, whether it was something that was said directly or just an impression that I got. Granted, I only remembered to take any notes two days, but both of them were pretty awe-inspiring.

I took notes (and very limited ones at that) on chapters 1-6, but here's what I got. In the first few chapters, I realized how unimaginative I am, how I like the idea of words but I would never use the phrases "like sparkling beryl" or "the expanse...like lapis lazuli" to describe anything in creation. I would say, 'oh, that's shiny' or 'what a nice shade of blue.'

Then I noted that I am indeed, like Judah, "a rebellious house" who does not want to depart from my sin. Then I saw that Ezekiel was unable to act on his own, so "the Spirit entered him." I realized what a gift it is to have a God who loves us so much that He will do for us what we are unwilling or unable to do. (Sound familiar anyone?)

Finally, I was thunderstruck by the fact that God promises that Judah "will know He is Lord" after each and every calamity He lays before them, and I realized (in a duh!) moment that I still don't quite get what that means. I mean, okay, he created everything, gave the Israelites multiple opportunities to love and serve him, then when they couldn't He gave his Son to be sacrificed because that just suited Him???? I don't think any human being, especially a parent, could actually make that decision, so it begs the question,

Do we ever fully understand that He is Lord? How can we?