Little Things

"He brought me to the Temple, and began to measure..." (Ezekiel 41: 1).

Ezekiel 40 and 41 is a precise, detailed description of the size, shape and configuration of an ideal temple. Details. Particulars. Minutia. It's difficult to read these chapters and harder still to apply them. What's the prophet's purpose in setting forth this assiduously detailed plan?

Some folks say that these are the plans for a literal Millenial temple to be constructed in Jerusalem. Others say it is a symbolic representation of the perfection of God’s plan for his restored people. I tend toward the latter explanation, because I have trouble squaring the idea of a renewed Old Covenant sacrificial system with the book of Hebrews. But I leave that one up to the experts.

One thought I had this morning is the notion that God has a detailed plan for my life, one that is thought out in Heaven and recorded for all time and eternity. This, it seems, is "God's will" for me—one I long to see realized.

But, I ask, how will I know what God has in mind for me today? Simply put, I must do the things He is asking me to do right now: quell a sinful thought; forgive a slight; love my neighbor; go the second mile, show hospitality to a stranger; listen to someone in crisis; pray with someone in need. The are the little things that God is asking me to do this minute. In so doing, His will will be worked out in me.

Paul writes, "This is the will of God: your sanctification (a holy life)" (1Thessalonians 4:3). This is the starting point for me.

David Roper

11.20.16