Faithful to the Assignment
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in a certain role or status? I remember as a boy playing baseball, imagining myself to be Mickey Mantle at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and the winning run on base. And of course, when the pitch came, I drove in the run so that the Yankees could win the World Series. Even with all my imagination, I did not become a major leaguer. In this case my imagination ruled out a career as a professional athlete.
I am sure you have had a moment where you thought, “If I were the CEO, then we could get this business in shape, pay people more money, and retire wealthy.” Or maybe you wondered what it would have been like to be Abraham Lincoln or George Washington, and if you would have had the courage to make the decisions and fight the battles that were critical to the well-being of the country.
What about characters in the Bible? Have you ever wondered what it would have been like for God to assign you one of the roles he gave others in scripture? Can you imagine being Abraham or Moses? What if God assigned you the job of a prophet? Sometimes the “call” was dramatic, like when Isaiah had the vision we find in Isaiah 6. Or consider Jeremiah’s call at the young age of maybe 18 or 20? Both of these prophets were given big assignments. But as I began reading Ezekiel today, I might place him at the top, or near the top, of the list of prophets who had a very tough assignment!
In similar fashion to Isaiah, Ezekiel had a dramatic vision and encounter with the majesty and power of God in all of his glory. And I am sure after seeing that it would have been hard to imagine saying no or even attempting to say no to God. Imagine this assignment:
“Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”
If the assignment wasn’t enough, the methods God told Ezekiel to use were also rather dramatic, including eating a scroll, building a model of Jerusalem being destroyed and then laying on his side for over a year facing one way and then 40 days facing another, and then having a very minimal diet that included some unpleasant ways of cooking his food.
And yet, Ezekiel obeyed and continued this extraordinarily difficult assignment. He fulfilled the job that God gave him. It makes me wonder about you and me and the assignments we are given. You may have not heard a direct message from the Lord or been allowed to see the throne room of God. But we are people of the resurrection! We serve a risen savior who has filled us with the Holy Spirit and given us a clear assignment: make disciples!
Discipleship begins by first opening our hearts and minds to the people God places in our paths each and every day. When we love like Jesus loves, we will learn to make eye contact, to listen, to smile, to share, and to allow the Holy Spirit to use us to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Father, today we turn from focus on ourselves to opening our eyes to those you call us to meet, to know, and to serve today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Ezekiel 1:26-28, 2:1-10, 3:1-11, 4:1-3 ESV
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