An Illusion

Ezekiel 11:16-17
“Therefore, tell the exiles, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Although I have scattered you in the countries of the world, I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile. I, the Sovereign LORD, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.”

Have you ever seen or been to a magic show? Magicians work hard to wow the audience with all their illusions. In the same way, some people work hard to be something that they’re not. On the outside, they look like the kind of person we would want to imitate, but if we saw into their heart, we would see nothing but an illusion.

This is exactly what happened to Israel. People would go to the sanctuary not to worship God, but to worship idols and do things that were detestable to God. They had very little concern for God and His ways. All they wanted to do was receive praise and glory for themselves. As we saw a few chapters earlier, God had to remove His presence from the temple because of the amount of sin that the people were committing in His holy temple.

When you go to church, do you go to receive praise and glory from others for the things you do or do you go there to worship God? Remember, God is a jealous God. He does not honor our worship when we are holding grudges, when we have unforgiveness, and when we gossip or tear down others. He does not like it when we seek the approval of man instead the approval of Him. Sadly, lots of these things happen in the church more than they happen in the world.

We should make sure we have one focus and one priority when we come together to worship. We should do all we can to make mends with people that have hurt us and forgive those that have insulted us. Jesus forgave us for every sin we’ll ever commit. If He can forgive us for all the nasty, horrible, and detestable things we’ve done to Him, then the least we can do is show love and forgive back to others, especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ.