Ezekiel chapter 18 verses 30-32 (NIV)
“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!
In Ezekiel’s time the majority of the people in the land were not interested in the things of God, and in spite of all the warnings from Ezekiel and other anointed prophets, they had turned their back on Him. Consequently they were facing the just and righteous judgement of God.
But what I find most encouraging in these verses is that they show us God’s hand of compassion and His mercy and grace. If ever we need reminding that redemption was always in God’s plan for us, we can see it here, and we are assured that we can receive a new heart and spirit thanks to Jesus’ death on the cross. God has no favourites and we are told here that He has no pleasure in the death of anyone.
That’s the message of hope that we as Christ’s Ambassadors need to carry and explain. We too cannot show favouritism just to those we find it easy to speak to, but also to those we would not necessarily associate with. After all, we know that it’s not God’s will that any should perish.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for pouring out Your grace and love through Christ to us who were not interested and who didn’t deserve Your love. Help me to have a tender and compassionate heart to share the message of truth with others, no matter who they are. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.