Being Faithful

The book of Ezekiel is full of judgment on the Jewish people because of their unfaithfulness to God. They either ignored the Covenant with God all together, or they gave it lip service, but worshiped other gods and idols. It is hard for me to read the book of Ezekiel because it is so full of all the bad things that are going to happen to the people because of their unfaithfulness. I don’t like reading about judgment or even thinking about it too much. Yet, Ezekiel was given this message from God. He says over and over, “The word of the Lord came to me…” While much of this is aimed directly at the Jewish people as they were about to be destroyed, there are things we can learn about God from reading about their experience.

“I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 15:8 I would rather read about the blessings of the Lord for being faithful. But here it is… what happens when we are unfaithful. While this was a very physical reality for the people, I wonder if there are spiritual implications for us even now.

As I tear this apart and meditate about it, I find I need to define what ‘land’ means in spiritual terms. I believe it could apply to my relationship with God and with others – my sphere of influence. If I am unfaithful, my relationship with God and with others will be empty – without meaning, or even non-existent.

Then I think about ‘desolate’. I believe it could mean without hope. When I am unfaithful to God, I find myself in a place without hope. My spirit within me becomes dry and unyielding. My relationship with God is strained and I don’t care so much about other people.

But the word ‘unfaithful’ seems to be at the core of my meditation. I wonder, what does it mean to be unfaithful? Can I be unfaithful in some things and faithful in others? If I’m just unfaithful once in a while, does that count? Is it possible to be faithful 100 percent?

A word I associate with faithful is ‘committed’. In a relationship, if we are faithful, we are committed to the other person – to their well being as well as ours. I wonder, where does my relationship with God stand in terms of commitment? Am I half-heartedly engaged or am I fully engaged in this relationship? What does it mean to be fully committed in a relationship? Can anything grow in my garden and orchard if I am only partially committed – tending it when it suits me? Maybe some things will sort of grow, but they certainly won’t flourish. In the same way, I believe that if I want to see ‘fruit’ in my spiritual life, I need to be fully committed to tending my garden and orchard – my relationship with God.

Our son Andrew said it this way in one of his journals. “Jesus isn’t a fair weather friend. Why should we be? I wonder how many people have tried to apply W.W.J.D. [What would Jesus do?] to their own faith, not just how they live with the world. I think I’ll give it a try, though I hear Yoda in the back of my head saying, ‘There is no try. Do or do not.’ Wise words despite the fact that it came from a 3-foot-tall, 900-year-old alien who doesn’t exist.” He was saying that either we are fully committed or we are not. If we are not fully committed, we are not likely to succeed.

When we are fully committed and faithful to our relationship with the Lord, we will flourish – “He is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:3

Lord, I choose to keep my eyes on you – to serve you with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. I do not want to become desolate because of unfaithfulness, but rather, I want to keep my roots deep in your soil, watered by your streams of living water, yielding fruit in season and providing shade for weary travelers. Thank you for your generous provision for me. Help me to not waste it, but to use it well for you. Amen.