“Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.” – Ezekiel 36: 31
Upon reading this verse, hymn 262, I Want a Principle Within, started playing in my mind.
Doing anything and everything under the sun that was seemingly right in their own eyes appears to be the signature trademark of the Israelite nation. As we readily and easily point out and analyse each of their sins, all their grievances, deliberate acts of disobedience, are we numb, ignorant or perhaps, in denial of those of our own? Or is pain synonymous with our plights?
God’s decisive hand in sanctifying His holy and hallowed name shows us how powerless we are at redeeming ourselves, turning away from temptation for good, and how far we fall short of His standard, how far we’ve fallen from grace. God’s actions also give us a glimpse into His perspective – how He sees us. If we constantly see ourselves as God does, would we not, like Adam and Eve at the beginning of time, be ridden with shame and guilt, then be resolved to live lives of reconciliation with God?
May the unspeakable holiness and sanctity of God and His name keep our sights unobstructed towards the stains in our slumbering souls.