The Final Word is Always Love
Mere mortal, will these bones live?
- Ezekiel 37:3
Ezekiel 37:1-14 tells the story of the rising of the dry bones. The Spirit of God takes Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones and has Ezekiel walk up and down the valley. God asks, "Mere mortal, can these bones live?"
To understand the power of this question, we have to understand Ezekiel's world. He is living during the Babylonian exile, when all of Judea had been taken over by the Babylonians and many had been exiled. They believed God lived in the temple and now there is no temple, so they're grappling with the question, Where is God? For many, all they see around them is devastation, destruction, and the death of their people and their culture.
Ezekiel, with very little hope in his voice, says, "Only you know, God."
We are living in a time that feels not unlike a valley of dry bones. Where we look around and all we see is suffering. Everyone is scared, worried, & alone. Amidst it all, we find ourselves losing hope, wrestling with doubt, and wondering where God is.
But here's the thing: we often see valleys of dry bones as places where God is no where to be found. In suffering, we feel God is absent.
This story tells us, it is precisely in these valleys where God resides. It is God who brings Ezekiel to this valley and walks among the bones with him. It is God who then breathes life into the bones and makes them live again.
My friends, the stories in the Bible, from the dry bones to Lazarus, are not about preventing suffering, or promising bad things will never happen; they are about what God is doing in the midst of suffering.
God's promise is that God will show up. God's promise is that death will never have the final word; destruction will never have the final word. The final word is always love. Is always hope. Is always grace. Is always life.
We may feel like we are in a valley of dry bones, or like we've been sitting - like Lazarus - in a tomb for 4 days carrying the stench of death on us. And when God asks, "Mortal, will these bones live?" We may not have the faith to say, "yes." But that is okay because the raising of the dry bones or of Lazarus from the tomb (John 11) never hinge on human faith, but only God's breath and God's word.
So when you grow tired and weary; when you feel overcome with doubt or grief; know that God grieves with you and is walking through this valley right beside you. Take this weight off your shoulders: The redemption of the world does not depend on your faith alone, but simply on the word and grace of God.
