Then He said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah. / Thus says the Lord Jehovah to these bones: I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. (Ezek. 37:4-5)
Recently, we interacted with a very talented and ambitious young person. He has a “bucket list” of famous companies he would like to work at—and many of them he already has. He has traveled the country and world, spent time learning from the best of the best in prestigious workplaces, and built a resume and reputation that would impress even the harshest critics.
The day before he left Toledo, he packed up the few belongings he had, ready to move on to the next place for a few months. All of his life could fit into a suitcase or two. Any city was as good as the next. We asked what his “dream” or end goal was from all of this, and with no real family, no real home, no real vision for his life, he essentially shrugged in reply. His resume was full, but his life was empty.
Beyond our own small, pitiful, self-driven life, do we know what our purpose is as human beings? We, too, once were poor, homeless, apathetic. We, too, once had no real family, no real home, no real vision. Reading Ezekiel this time, I am in awe to see my own story in its pages. I am experiencing the very same vision unfolding in my own life. I see my history of judgment, transformation, and recovery by life: from the stormy wind that overturned my plans, to the cloud of His presence that covered me, from the fire that exposed my emptiness, to the electrum that shines through it all (Ezek. 1:4). In the end, we find our home in the ultimate building—the dwelling place where God and man are mingled in eternity. The book of Ezekiel is indeed a miniature of the revelation contained in the entire Bible. It is also a picture of our life and purpose, our meaning and our end goal.
Lord, thank You that You found us and brought us in. Thank You for speaking. Thank You for dispensing Your life. Thank You for breathing life into these dry bones. The same Spirit who blew on us as a storm wind from the north now lives within us. Thank You for grafting us in, quickening life in us and making us part of this great army, this corporate being. We are home. We don’t need to wander from city to city, seeking satisfaction in the empty, dry world. You are our source, our water, our river of life, our meaning and our purpose, our beginning and our end. Lord, how we long to see this vision fulfilled, Your home built (Ezek. 37:27)!