Scripture: Ezekiel 18:31-32
Abandon all of your repeated sins. Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? I most certainly don’t want anyone to die! This is what the LORD God says. Change your ways, and live!
Thought for the Day: This portion of Ezekiel is looking at how the poor choices of one generation have lasting ramifications on generations to come. We have a tendency to think pretty short term in regard to how our actions are going to impact the generations to come. The beginning of Ezekiel 18 references a proverb that says, “When parents eat unripe grapes, the children’s teeth suffer.” There are many who read the above passage out of context and try to suggest the author is talking about a tension between eternal life and eternal damnation. First, the concept of eternal damnation did not exist within Judaism at this time. Second, it misses the larger point. Our choices that might feel good today are potentially setting our children on a path that is destructive. These words can be heard by both the current generation who needs to see the larger implications of its choices, but it also speaks to the next generation and suggests that it is not entirely defined by the past generations. Oh sure, there might be some legacy problems that another generation inherits, but it does not mean that future generations have to continue to repeat the sins of the past. A change can happen, and though it may require a lot of clean-up, a new path can be found…a path of life.
Prayer: May I stop complaining about the predicament previous generations have imposed upon me. O God of all history, let me take ahold of what I can control and move my life onto a path that provides life for me and for generations to come. Amen.
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