Shank Bone 3

Even with the knowledge of what I wrote in the last two blogs, still ... a dried up bone in the middle of the Seder Plate is unusual.  It is the only item on that plate which none can eat (except the dog under the table, which looks at it with his big brown eyes).  Could it mean something else?

Well ... that bone can represent us, if we are not careful!  All too often Christians (who call themselves people of faith) can become dried out images of what God desires, worthless dead bones, which are of little use except for the trash (and the dogs who love to chew them, remembering what they used to be ... and are not!).

It is almost as if we are used up salt.  Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." (Matthew 5:13)

So, what makes us become like worthless bones?  Consider Jesus words to the churches in Revelation:

-  Ephesus (the opposite of Philadelphia): “You have forsaken your first love” ... God tells us the first and foremost command is: “Love the LORD your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your strength.” (and Jesus adds, with ALL your mind) (Deuteronomy 6:5; 11:13; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27)

-  Sardis (the opposite of Smyrna): “you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (yes, think of themselves as being “blessed” because they are rich in the world's goods but they are poor [dead] spiritually speaking ... do you think we need revival?!)

-  Pergamum and Thyatira, where the church follows after every wind of doctrine (as the Baalamites and Nicolaitans) and even gets caught up in the sin of Jezebel (Yes, we need revival for we are dead and worthless like that bone!)

-  Laodicea: We are lukewarm, not the refreshing water of a cool mountain stream or the healing hot springs we should be.  And what do you do with lukewarm bath water ... you throw it out on the street! (But don't throw the baby out with the bath water just yet!)

God wants us to experience revival. Ezekiel said to Israel, “The Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’" (Ezekiel 37:1-2)

God desires for His people to become alive.  If we will but take our eyes off ourselves, and place them where God wants them, on Him, then we can again become the mighty force that God wants us to be.  The church can become alive when we leave the safety of our fortress (as Jesus beckoned Peter to leave the safety of the boat in Matthew 14:25-32),and once again go into the world taking the Gospel to the Lost.  When we are obedient to the Great Commission, God can use our lives along with His message to bring life to the church in our land once again.