Saturday, November 14, 2015

the grief of sin {on Ezra nine}




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this past week I was able to study and pull apart the book of Ezra. it's a book of the bible I had never really read and didn't think much about. once we got into the chapters of it, it was very applicable. 

"After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” As soon as I heard this, tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. " Ezra 9:1-3

How much do we grieve over sin? of our own and in the lives of others. seeing sin should make us realize the wickedness in it, make us appalled, and more than thankful for the love of Jesus. is my repentance emotional? do I realize what lines i've crossed? so often I see other people bound to sin and look at it as such a light thing. I feel as much of the time we make it a joke. we might say how stupid the person is and how we're glad we are "not like them". I am definitely guilty of this. the bottom line is simply this: sin should make us grieve. we may not have to tear our clothes and shave our heads, or even shed tears. but we can at least bring our minds to the seriousness of it. can I at least pray for the sinfully lost person? can I at least have reverence when I am repenting? Ezra was beside himself in grief of the people's sin. others in this world may not know how lost they are but they may. that doesn't stop the love of Jesus. I want to grieve more over sin. it is a serious thing and I want to be aware of how it warps this world day after day, minute after minute. even more, I want to remember what lines I cross when I commit a sin.

these are thoughts I challenged myself with this week. they really make me think, remind me, and most importantly make the word of God slowly come alive. x

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