Ezekiel 37:5-6 - “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
I am lost for words. How can I even tell of the harrowing things I saw? How can I even describe the awful things I heard? How can I even make someone understand what I perceived in that place, that space, so far from everything that God had wanted for us?
I had made my bed in death, in Sheol, and He was there and He called me by name. On the wings of the morning and across the uttermost parts of the sea, I travelled incomprehensible distances to obey His voice. The Word of God said to me, “Come forth!” Straightaway I was restored to life by the sound of His voice. God breathed the breath of life into my nostrils and I lived. My eyes opened in obedience to the Lord of Powers. My heart, which had been hard as stone, was made soft by His miraculous love. My blood, which had been cold, was now warmed by the light of the Son. My lungs, which had not breathed in four days, inhaled as if I had been born again. The smell of my body had been transformed from death to that of incense. By His grace, I was made alive, made whole, restored to the life He intended me to have and healed by the power of His command. Even though I could not see for my eyes were covered by some cloth and my arms were bound by strips of cloth, I stood on my feet and walked towards my Creator, to the Giver and Restorer of my life. My mortal breath was hot on the cloth in front of my face. My feet could scarcely move for how tightly wound the strips of cloth were around my legs, but my feet knew the way out of this place. My grave had been opened and I had been raised up. The small rocks shifted under the weight of my feet as I stepped out into the light.
I heard gasps and the screams of joy and then people began to touch my arms to feel me and then they held me close. They reached up and took off the cloth covering my head and then the first thing I saw… was Him. He who called me out of darkness into His glorious light. He is the True Light. He looked into my eyes and I looked into His. My sisters held onto me with joy, touched my warm cheeks in disbelief, kissed my face with their tears-soaked lips, and spoke to me with voices quivering in wonder. My sweet sisters asked me things such as if I wanted something to drink, something to eat, somewhere to rest, some different clothes to wear. Martha and Mary’s loving voices were only a faint echo of Christ’s love for me. I loved Him with all my heart, soul, and strength for because of Him I had passed from death to life.
Though surrounded by people, I was alone in His presence and surrounded by His glory. As He looked on me, I fell into a pervading silence. Even though the palaces of hell were already being shaken, my heart was sorrowful for the souls I had seen there. However, within His gaze was a sorrow far more vast as it spanned all time for all the souls who would refuse His mercy and lovingkindness. I looked on Him in astonishment. Who is this Man of sorrows? Surely He has borne our griefs and on His shoulders He carries our sorrows. He has allowed me to share in only a fragment of His sorrow for mankind and now I think I shall never smile again.
What could I do from now on? I could not possibly go back to being the man I used to be. What could I say? Surely there is no subject in this world that interests me like it used to. How could I care about my clothes, the food I would eat next, the political developments, the gossip of my neighbors, or the lucrative ventures to be had? These earthly things have lost their flavor to my palate and now there is only one thing left to do now: I must proclaim this Son of Man - the Son of God to all people. I must teach transgressors His ways that they may return to Him. I must strengthen those in their faith in Him. I do not wish for any soul to enter that place that I had seen, but my heart aches for them to place their hope in Him Who is the Resurrection and the Life. Having been restored to life on this earth, how could I possibly go back to living for myself again? Indeed, Christ is the only thing worth living for. Having been dead and buried before, how could I ever fear death again? For if I live, I live to the Lord, and if I die, I die to the Lord. So whether I live or die, I am the Lord’s.