Don't Leave the Way You Came

Ezekiel 45:13-46:24; Psalm 119:65-88; Proverbs 28:15-16

Dirty people enter a shower to come out clean. Shaggy people enter a barber’s shop to come out trimmed. Hungry people enter restaurant to come out filled.

God invites us to come to Him as we are. Too often, though, we think that means He wants us to stay as we are. We couldn’t be more wrong.

God invites us to come to Him to be changed. To come sinful and leave righteous. To come filthy and leave pure. To come guilty and leave forgiven. To come as enemies and leave as sons. He’s not really interested in having us encounter Him and continue on our way unchanged.

Through Ezekiel, God gave the Israelites (and now us) an intriguing way of portraying the expectation of change:

When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. – Ezekiel 46:9

I can think of no other reason for this command than to remind the Israelites of something important: worshiping God changes us. When we don’t change, does that perhaps indicate that we haven’t truly been worshiping God?

Father, grow me. Change me more and more fully to be like Your Son Jesus Christ.