August 16, 2023

Ezekiel 45: 9, 10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lords says: You have gone far enough . . . Give up your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing my people . . . You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah and an accurate bath.’” (NIV)

God claims lordship over all the details of our lives.*

In this passage, Ezekiel delivers a message from God to the princes of Israel. Clean up your act, he tells them. Stop the violence and the oppression and the unlawful eviction of people from their homes. And by the way: stop cheating your customers. When we consider evil behavior, we seldom think of our own particular "little" sins. But when God addresses sin, he measures it differently. Violence and oppression are on equal footing with dishonest weights and measures. Cheating on your taxes is as bad as abuse of power. 

The Creator of the universe is also the Creator of the atom. The God of all creation is also the God of the details. No matter the size of your sin or your problems, how small or large your joys and your victories, God is mindful of them. He can forgive the perpetrator of the most heinous atrocities, and he wants to forgive the liar and the cheater. He is with you when you celebrate huge victories and in your private moments of delight. 

Take Ezekiel’s advice. Do what is just and right. In big ways and small ways. God is Lord of all.

The more we respect God’s power, the more we appreciate his approachability.*