Today in our Chapel's Sunday service the OT reading was Ezekiel 3:1-27. It was the whole chapter on Ezekiel's mandate as the prophet to Israel. In it I was reminded of my own calling and it did toughen me up a little after a week of turmoil. Dealing with worldly people is never an easy thing as Christians and especially as pastors. They expect you to behave impeccably and always smiling and never growling despite all kinds of untoward and unprofessional conduct on their part. The refurbishment of my College dwelling had taken a full 5 months when it was supposed to take weeks, at most one month when it began. When I expressed my disappointment to the contractor how things had panned out he was not too happy and in fact almost got angry with me. I felt bad about it for the past two days and reflected on how the devil accuses us of all kinds of things when in fact those who belong to the world need to repent and turn back from their evil ways.
When I heard Ezekiel's commission read out this morning I was a little comforted and realized that part of my calling is to warn the righteous and the wicked. To warn the righteous not to sin or forsake righteousness and fall into iniquity and to warn the wicked to turn from their evil ways so that they will not come into judgment. No man or woman likes to be told their sins and that is part of the prophetic ministry of God's servants to sound the warning and whether they listen or notm their blood is no longer in our hands and they shall know that a prophet is in their midst. I can't help thinking that at the end-time, the prophetic ministry will come to the forefront and only those who receive a prophet will escape the condemnation that is to come on a sinful and wicked generation.
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