Filthy Rags

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”   This came to me this morning as I contemplated a verse in Ezekiel.  In chapter forty-five, God continues to walk Ezekiel through all that is to come in the millennial kingdom.  In verse eighteen, it states: “Thus says the Lord GOD” and continues with the details of a sacrifice and specifies what to do with the blood.  And in verse twenty, it says, “Thus you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who goes astray or is naïve”.    I looked up the adjective, naïve: showing lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment; innocent.

Our going astray, whatever that means for each of us, should be confessed each day and brought up each morning that God will give us the power to avoid.  But naïve…well, that’s more abstract.  I remember as a kid when men in the church prayed aloud, “Lord forgive our sins of omission and commission.” Naïve would be the “omission”, something that has been left out or failure to do.   They are also those sins we do that we don’t realize are sins.  And I’ll not try to go any further giving examples…not enough room here!   Naïve sins are still sins whether we think about it or not. 

Let us not be judgmental and appalled at the sins of the world!  You know what I mean: “What’s this world coming to?”  Let us be aware of our own “naïve sins”.  They are there and we may not know the specific but we can still be repentant.  God is serious about all sin.  And we may think our works are righteous, but only God gives the righteousness and empowers it!  Let us throw ourselves at the Feet of His wonderful mercy!!