Heartbroken

“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” (Ez 9:4)

When I think about Ezekiel’s time in Israel’s history, it reminds me of our Western culture today. In countless ways, we have become largely post-Christian, with the trappings of our historically dominant religious expression still around (church buildings, organizations, etc…) but with much of the life snuffed out. Here Israel (Judah more specifically) still had the Temple, the Priests and the Elders, but they were fully embracing all kinds of obscene images and wholly giving their lives to man-made things that took the place of God.

But there were a few people who still grieved. Those who were heartbroken at the state of their culture and the shattered lives that surrounded them.

Notice that the people who were marked for God did not self-righteously stand aloof from the sinners, but they were struck with godly sorrow for the devastation they knew this sin would bring. Godly sorrow, we find in 2 Corinthians 7:10 brings repentance that live sex chat room leads to salvation.

I want to sorrow and repent for my own sins first and remember that my sin is as vile and detestable as any sin can be; it’s all a rejection of a loving God and offense to a Holy God. And as I sufficiently understand the depth of my own God-rejection, I also want to have true sorrow and pain over the sin and brokenness around me.

The more I understand what my own sin does to me, the less I want to participate in the sin so evident in my culture—and the more pain I feel for those who are sucked-in and bound by that sin.

I think to be marked by God as someone who can influence culture for Him, I need to more fully understand and deeply feel how the sin in my culture drives people away from Him. And that will drive me to prayer for people in my culture as well as cause me to care enough that I will do all I can to allow God to use me to bring about rescue and release from bondage.