The parents ate green apples,
The children got the stomachache?"
Ezekiel 18:1-2
Observation: In this message from God, Ezekiel teaches a major lesson. He uses several techniques in this message, including metaphor, hypothetical examples, and direct instruction, and the message is simple. God punishes those who sin, and does not punish those who do not sin. The idea the Jews have that clean-living descendants are punished for the sins of their parents is ridiculous, just as much as saying that sinful descendants are rewarded for the clean-living of their parents ... or that a child can get sick if their parents eat bad food.
While this message is addressing a near-term claim of the people of Judah - that they are innocent but being punished due to the decades of sinful living by their ancestors (and Ezekiel is making it clear that isn't true ... they too still sin, and if they would repent then God would relent his punishments) - it applies to the world today and the opportunity everyone has to make a decision for Christ. I am not saved because my parents were Christian. My children are not saved because I am a Christian. Everyone makes their own decision, and their salvation will absolutely be tied to that personal choice.
Application: I am a Christian, and while I do not live a perfect life and will be answerable for that, my salvation is secured by faith. Furthermore, my Christianity is defined by my choice as an adult to completely believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior, the son of the Lord God almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and to believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I have confidence that others in my family - past generations, my generation, and my children - believe that same and have confirmed that belief with God and for themselves.
This makes my grief over other friends painful. I don't know how child-based and youth-based declarations, confirmations, and baptisms work. I don't know how future choices may affect those activities. However, I am afraid that, when I say I don't know ... I actually do know, and the knowledge is that it is adult intentionality that matter. Maybe that intentionality can happen only once, and once done is irrevocable, but it needs to occur. Likewise, until it does occur, adult decisions to reject the actions of one's youth ... actions taken because parents made decisions and required those actions ... are canceled by adult rejection.
I don't pray to be right or wrong about this, because I am either right or wrong. But I feel Ezekiel is pretty darn clear today. In the matter of our relationship with the Lord, everyone makes an adult decision for themselves, and is held accountable accordingly. So instead, I pray for the young adults - those I know, and those I don't - who stand on the precipice of spiritual accountability, and hope for their good decisions to come soon.
Prayer: Lord, I will not name just the few in my heart, for you know them. In addition, I pray this for the millions I do not know. Our young are under attack, and we are losing them. Many have heard the good news of Jesus, spending their childhood learning the stories and singing the songs and engaging in rituals, and now consciously reject it all. Remember, Lord, I did this once, too. You pursued me and millions like me. Please do it again. May revival begin with our young adults that have been so greatly and systematically deceived. Their fate is not tied to their parents, and it is not tied permanently to their current decision. May they find a way, by your love and your Spirit, to make a new choice. Amen.
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