All Dried Out and Ready for Life

April 2, 2017 

All Dried Out and Ready for Life

Ezekiel 37:3

Synopsis: It’s a contradiction.  Things that are all dried out are not ready for life…right?  Life on this planet is based on water and yet all good gardeners know the seed they buy to plant are all dried out and ready for life.  All they need is to be planted, watered and get some good sun and a new plant will emerge from the old.

      Ezekiel’s prophecy starts with out with a valley full of dried out bones.  They looked hopeless!  And then there is the question, “can these bones come back to life?”  Ezekiel knew that the only one to answer that quest was the Lord God (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  This is a resurrection promise and story.  New life was not to be found in the dried bones but in the life of the Spirit.  I believe that this story has much more to tell us if we will speak to the “wind” the Spirit of the Life-giving God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

      Let’s follow this analogy and apply it to the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:17-44).  Jesus spoke to the “wind” and called forth Lazarus.  What a story!  What an image!  Surely, those who saw Jesus put to death on the cross felt the pain of the question, “can he live again?”  But that was Friday.  Sunday brought a totally different image. 

      Maybe you feel like you are “all dried out,” but that doesn’t mean you are hopeless.  It just means you need the life of the Spirit to bring new life in you so that you will be “ready for life.”

Text (CEV): Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 11:17-44