Toward Resurrection

Toward Resurrection

This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.

Ezekiel 37:5

IN WORD God is the source of all life. He breathed life into Adam on day six of creation, and He sustains life every minute of every day. Whatever God touches flourishes. The Living One is never the author of death.

Sin is the source of all death. It isn’t that God decides to kill those who have sinned; sin cuts off the supply line of life by severing communion with the Living One. By its very nature, rebellion against the source of life results in death.

So when God says He will breathe life into dry bones scattered over a desolate valley, He’s giving a dramatic picture of the new creation, or re-genesis. He is pointing back to day six of creation, and He is pointing ahead to the resurrection of Jesus and the flourishing Kingdom of God. He is demonstrating that He has a heart for redemption that overshadows His need to judge sin. In the midst of one of Israel’s most desperate situations in history, He promises restoration. He is a God who loves to breathe life.

IN DEED Think of all the situations in your life that seem hopeless or even dead. If you’re honest, you’ll realize that you have plenty of them: broken dreams, disappointing relationships, thwarted plans, devastating regrets. Realize that they aren’t hopeless to God. In fact, He loves breathing life into impossibilities.

Maybe that’s why inspired Scripture tells us that the sovereign Lord says He will breathe into the dry bones and make them alive again. He has authority over every situation in our lives, even the tragedies we’ve tried to put behind us. If He wants to resurrect them, He’s fully capable. He’s sovereign.

Never give up on a situation by looking at the circumstances surrounding it. Look at the sovereign God who exudes life. His will is all that matters; visible circumstances are no obstacle. The heart of the One who breathes life wants to fill your circumstances with His breath.

Resurrection is . . . the crucial quality of life.

—WILLIAM TEMPLE