"The word of the LORD came to [Ezekiel]: 'Therefore say: "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again."'" - Ezekiel 11:14,17
Have you ever done something where the next thing you said was, "Oops, I'm dead"?
I was about seven and, on this particular day, bored. So I went to the garage, got a wiffle ball and bat, and went to the front yard.
My older brother, Ben, for whatever reason being unavailable, was not there to throw me the ball. So I threw the ball to myself, which obviously means I tossed it straight up. When the ball came down I swung, and it went right back where it came from, that is, straight up...and, well, back.
Ya see, if ya don't know, wiffle balls can spin like crazy and curve in all sorts of directions...like straight towards your parents' large bedroom window.
And when wiffle balls start spinning, they can continue to spin like there's no tomorrow, even when they meet an object...like your parents' large bedroom window.
A wiffle ball!?!? It shattered that window like the old "is it live or is it Memorex?" glass.
Oops, I'm dead.
Remember, there is no older brother around, so there's no older brother to blame. No sirree; it's all on me.
I was so traumatized at my impending death, (I mean it was a window, that to a seven year old seemed like it would surely cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars to repair) that I don't even remember how my parents found out. I don't know; maybe it was unusually cold in their bedroom that night and they followed the icicles.
But, however they found out, something tells me that they knew who (me) and what (wiffle ball) before I stopped cryin' and wonderin' how much longer I had to live.
All I know is I paid nothing for the window. No money. No spankin'. Not even a line-up and questioning of all four kids.
My parents paid the whole price. And gave me back my life again. (Not that they themselves ever took it away.)
I think I do remember them asking me to find a spot in our nice-sized yard that was a little farther from the windows whenever I had an inkling to play wiffle ball by myself, but otherwise, they never took an ounce of life or even pride away from me.
It's kind of like God to His children in today's Bible verse. We get bored. Do something stupid. Break something (like a relationship). Say, "Oops, I'm dead."
And God pays the whole price, as the Son of God loses his life on the cross and gives us our life back again through the forgiveness of sins.
Hopefully, we remember God asking us to play differently the next time, but otherwise, God really doesn't want to take an ounce of life or even pride away from us.
Huh, interesting...the things we can learn about God from a wiffle ball and a big dose of loving parents, family, or friends.
Something's gonna break today. Spread the love, people. Spread the love.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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