How to Clean Up
Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-12
Martin Luther said, “If you want to clean out a dunghill, turn the Elbe (A river in Central Europe) into it.” Ezekiel’s vision of the waters flowing from the Temple reminds us that the way to change a life (or the world) is not primarily through attacking the problem (whatever that is) head-on. The way to change is first and foremost by turning the River into it.
If you pick up a drinking glass and notice a speck of dirt in the bottom of it, the best approach to cleaning it isn’t to stick your hand into the glass and try and scrape the dirt out with your finger. Instead, your completely normal response is to run water into the glass. The water will force it out.
We often become frustrated with our efforts to deal with our sinful tendencies because we are attacking them with tools insufficient for the job. We need to flush them out through a constant filling of the Spirit, Whom Jesus said would be the rivers of water flowing out of the heart of the one who believes in Christ (John 7).
The Dead Sea in Ezekiel’s vision becomes a Sea of Life, not by trying to clean out all of the salt and minerals that are deadly to living creatures, but by the rushing waters of life coming from the Temple and flowing into it.
