Times of crisis cause pain and force us to examine what we sincerely believe about God. Ancient writers knew this as “dark night (of the soul),” a term commonly used in Christianity for a spiritual crisis in ones journey toward God.
“Most Christians live out of their ‘mistaken identity,’ not out of who God says they are. When Christians see themselves as ‘sinners saved by grace,’ they have no choice but to live life as sinners, strenuously striving to become saints. Naturally, this effort leads to failure because we’re not in charge of our sainthood. Out sainthood has already been accomplished by our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, when Christians are able to see themselves as ‘saints who sin,’ as Christ-in-me creatures, as clothed with robes of righteousness, they have the only basis to grow up in what is already true of them. God says we are righteous, and this becomes the context of the condition that allows Christ to dwell in us.
Bones. Reading from Ezekiel 37, “He sat me down in the middle of a valley of dry bones.” We know the feeling. Things get difficult and no matter which way we turn, nothing but dry bones. But God was teaching the prophet (and us) a lesson. The question before Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” When Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded, there was a great rattling sound and the bones came together. After a second prophesy, “breath” and...