and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel 9:4
Seeing something that is wrong occurs on a regular basis for most people. Seeing it and doing something about it, however, are different things. Most people see and don’t like the wrongs, but really do not do anything about it. They just keep moving forward and basically ignore what they saw.
Ezekiel records God telling a person, probably an angel, to go through the city and put a mark on everyone who is sighing and crying over the sin being done in it.
The world lives in sin because they do not know any better. They have never been shown what is right and what is wrong. As a result, it is expected that those who do not believe in Jesus will be steeped in sin and sinful ways of living.
Those in the church are supposed to be different, but often look the same as the world. While claiming to believe in Jesus, they are walking in sin, rejecting the commands of God in their lives.
Others in the church, the true believers, will see the sin and weep. They will seek God to help them remove sin in their own lives and to change those around them. They will weep over sin, rather than accepting it or ignoring it.
Those who weep over sin are marked by the Holy Spirit of God upon their lives. The Holy Spirit gives them power over sin and guides them in the holy and righteous ways of God. They are a new creation, holy and righteous in the eyes of God.
If you open your eyes and look around you, it is guaranteed you will see people living in sin. You will even be able to sin the open sin within your church that you attend. Seeing all this sin should break your heart and cause you to weep before God over it. Your desire is that all should repent and follow God with all of their life. As you weep over the sin in your own life and lives of others, God will mark you by His Holy Spirit as one of His, not to be destroyed due to sin.
Are you marked by God? Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that God will open your eyes to sin in your own life and around you; that your heart will break before God for all the sin you see; and that you will be marked by the Holy Spirit of God.
Photo by Ahna Ziegler on Unsplash
Leave a Reply