God is My Sparring Partner

One of my favorite/least favorite things to do is go grocery shopping.  I enjoy the task, but find it challenging to exercise patience with slower customers and my own inability to find things.  And so, in order to improve my mental outlook, I tried to stream Bible Gateway while I walked.  It not only allowed me to hear a lot of Scripture, it also allowed me to slow down and appreciate my "Meijer Me-Time." 

That was until I selected Ezekiel as my book to listen to.  For those who are unfamiliar with Ezekiel, it is a major prophetic text in the Old Testament detailing the Babylonian exile (a time in which the Babylonian Empire held Israel in captivity and forced cultural assimilation).  It begins with strange imagery of circles within circles and moves toward a difficult and intense critique of Israel.  That critique of Israel devastates my modern sensibilities.  The imagery is... frankly... disgusting at times.  It was enough to make me want to drop my earphones.  Certainly it wasn't lifting my spirits as the activity intended.

Instead of dropping it and pretending Ezekiel doesn't exist, I decided to enter the arena and spar with God a little.  I told God I wouldn't give up until I heard something hopeful in the book of Ezekiel.  I will give you a hint:  The time it took wasn't measured in minutes.  It took a couple hours.  But finally I heard a phrase that turned it around for me.  At that point, I was almost in tears.  It was a sustained bout, but it was over (for the moment). 

In that Monday afternoon, I entered into a company of saints like Jacob (Genesis 32), Elijah (1 Kings 17), Paul (2 Corinthians 12) and even Jesus (Matthew 26).  The company is of those who wrestle with God.  I think part of the point of Ezekiel is to create a drought of hope.  The book seems designed to articulate the despair of an unjust people in an unjust world.  It awakens the craving for eternity which rests in the human heart, long buried by resignation and cynicism.  No verse-a-day devotional can capture that feeling as one goes through Ezekiel.  But as one emerges from the despair, the beauty of God's presence becomes more and more apparent.  A new Temple gives life to the drought.  And the book ends with "The LORD is there."  The book ends with peace, but it takes a lot to get through it.  The journey is worth it, the sparring match is worth it.  And this sparring match ends with far more than a friendly handshake, but with the gracious embrace of Christ.