Day 323

Ezekiel 36:1-37:28, James 3:1-18, Psalm 129:1-8

Sometimes I remember passages by the songs that are based on them, and I love the song that goes with the dry bones passage. It is not just about the song though, this passage has so much meaning because of the power of the imagery, the miracle itself and because of the work of the Spirit.

It is not that long ago that I preached on this passage, and in it we see the word of the Lord bringing the bones together. This is the word of the Lord that spoke and brought order out of chaos, created light, separated night and day, sea and sky and spoke the word that brought life to mankind. This is the word that was spoken and brought dry bones together. Then there is more, it is the spirit, the breath of God, that brought life into those dry bones. That turned the bones and flesh into something that actually lives and breathes.

Just a few verses before God speaks of replacing our hearts of stone within hearts of flesh. This is about so many things: it is about love and life, it is about being changed and challenged by God. It is about allowing God deep within us to take what is cold and hard as stone, and allowing him to replace it with warmth and love. It is the Spirit, the same Spirit that gave life to those dry bones, that does the same to us.

And then James, and the spark that can start a fire. James is talking about a spark of the bad stuff that can infect our lives. But surely the same is true of a spark of the Holy Spirit. If we picture ourselves as those dry bones, those stone hearts and then see the change that Christ has brought about within us, the new life, the hearts of flesh. Now think about how you could be that spark, how when you take the love of Christ that gave you a new heart into the world, your spark might just start a fire.