How Then Can We Live?

I have had the privilege this past year of spending my devotional time in the book of Ezekiel. I have read it through dozens of times, and I believe I am finally getting a handle on the significant teachings of the book - not an easy task, I can assure you.

This morning, as I was reading through a selected group of chapters in preparation for a discussion I would be leading on them this evening, God spoke to my heart through a question found in Ezekiel 33:10 - "How then can we live?" Immediately, I was reminded of a book Dr. Francis Schaeffer published back in 1976 whose titled echoed that very question - How Should We Then Live?

Dr. Schaeffer's book was a great study of the rise and decline of Western culture and thought. At the time of its publication, it was a prophetic message aimed at helping the Western world understand why its collapse seemed imminent. It still is a book that should be read and studied for its truths have not diminished with the passage of nearly 30 years. In fact, they have only become more pronounced.

The context for the question in Ezekiel 33 is very interesting. For over 10 years the prophet has been sounding the alarm concerning the consequences of sinful behavior on the part of Judah and, for the most part, it has fallen upon deaf ears. Yet Ezekiel has faithfully acted as the watchman on the wall. Suddenly the people begin to respond: "Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them" (Ezekiel 33:10). This is the first statement in the book where the people begin to take ownership that the problems they are experiencing come from their own sinfulness. Yet that very ownership brings them to the point of despair: "How then can we live?"

As I have shared in many previous articles, sin always has consequences. And the most devastating consequence is death. Remember Paul's words to the Roman believers: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:23). And I don't believe that death is always just a personal consequence; I believe cultures can die because of sin as well. I believe the Jewish leaders in Ezekiel's day came to understand that the very culture of Judaism was in danger of dying because of their sinful habits. Could the hand of God's judgment be stayed? Was it still possible to turn the nation around?

Now what I found most intriguing was God's response, found in the very next verse: "Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'" "How then can we live?" The answer: "Turn from your wicked ways and find new life in God, who is life itself."

I find two truths in this text: First, healing of a nation, a culture, a civilization can only occur when people realize their sinful behavior and then take ownership of their own actions. No more blaming someone else. No more playing the role of a victim. No more waiting for someone else to take the initiative. (Is our nation taking ownership of its sinful choices? Not only is there the flaunting of sinful choices openly, but Congress seems poised to enact legislation making any discussion of the sinfulness of those choices a violation of law.) Second, healing of a nation, a culture, a civilization can only occur when people cry out to God and accept His solution for the problems that confront them. No more depending upon a government solution. No more waiting for a government bailout.

In the light of being in a world whose moral and ethical values seem to be spiralling downward, how then can we live? We find significance and real life in Christ Jesus Himself. He will give us a new heart and a new spirit. And, perhaps, just perhaps, our nation can be saved.