I want an idyllic life. At the movie theater I get perturbed by yackers interrupting my focus on the storyline. I can feel my anxiety rise when the waiting room is packed and my Kindle is on my desk. Why is that “check engine” light on again?
Has your goal for a perfect day gone south when you trip over a toy, dropping your coffee mug before you ever get the first sip of caffeine delight? “Day ruined,” you mumble as you roll out the paper towels.
If you have ever blamed circumstances, the weather or especially people for your problems you are not the first. Guilt transference is nothing new. “The parents eat sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezek. 18:2). In other words this proverb means, “My day, my life and my future stinks because of you.”
Personal responsibility
Desperation, fear, anger and resentment out-pointed personal responsibility when God spoke to His people through Ezekiel. The cause of malady had a culprit: sin. Individual sin had escalated to national proportions — so much so that extreme measures were taken by God to correct and cleanse His people. The verdict of a just God was levied. “The one who sins is the one who will die” (18:20). Sin is profoundly personal. It and its consequences can’t be transferred.
Enter: grace. “When you turn from sin that person will surely live and not die” (18:21). God takes no pleasure in the death of offenders (18:32). Temple sacrifices illustrated His perpetual grace enabling all who would to experience forgiveness and engage in meaningful worship. Jesus made that clear and permanent through His blood: “We have been justified by His blood and are now saved from God’s wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:9). Own your sin. Rather than calling God out, call out to Him instead. Take responsibility and be rescued.
A Christian does not live an idyllic life … yet. A forgiven life is for now. An idyllic life will one day follow.
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