Not long ago I was chatting with a fairly well-known conservative personality. He was lamenting that he “had” to be in the fight. As he talked about all the other things he thought he would “rather” be doing than be engaged in the cause of liberty, my thoughts turned to a bunch of dry bones.
The Prophet Ezekiel was told by God of the rebirth of Israel. In the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel, that prophesy is followed up by a vision. In it, Ezekiel was taken to a valley full of bones. At God’s insistence, Ezekiel spoke words over the bones and they began to regather into men – taking on muscle and skin until eventually the valley was filled with a mighty army.
There are numerous interpretations of that section of scripture which are a lot more theologically heady than what I will offer here.
My reading of that passage, and applying it to my own life, is similar to how I read the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3. There, we find John warning people about the arrogance of their lineage. “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
In other words, I might not be as necessary as I may like to presume!
With that in mind, I find great joy in being allowed to do what I do every day. I meet men and women who joyfully volunteer their time and fortunes in the fight for liberty in our Republic. They are the rule, not the exception.
But there are some people – like the fellow mentioned above – who like to grumble. They want to be seen as reluctantly recruited into the fight because of some uniquely exulted quality they possess. They seem to suggest that were it not for being conscripted, they wouldn’t otherwise care less about the issues confronting us – much less be involved.
That’s exhausting.
If we are honest, very few of us are actually up to the task of saving the Republic. There is little doubt that what we do could be done more efficiently and effectively by a stone turned into a son or a heap of dry bones given new life. I don’t know about you, but I’m just excited to be on the team. Whether I get to make a big play or sit on the sidelines, I think it is cool I get to wear the jersey of a patriot engaged in one of the most consequential battles of human history.
Rather than grumble about our tasks and responsibilities, we should greet each new twist and turn in the journey as a joyful reminder that we get to be in the fight.
