Foundations...

So I have continued to read Ezekiel and today chapter 13 jumped off the page at me.  Basically, God is warning against false prophets and has compared them to building a poor wall, whitewashing it and making people feel comfortable in their deception.  He promises to bring a storm to take off the whitewash and destroy the poorly built walls of false prophets and strip things down to their foundation.  I had two immediate reactions to this section.  First, I am reminded of the contemporary Pharisees to Jesus and how he referred them as whitewashed tombs – looking nice, but completely dead and lacking.  Second, my heart is immediately under inspection.  Who am I if all the whitewashing and poorly built walls of my life are stripped away by a storm and only my foundations are left?  I am scared to know, and at the same moment this is the thing my heart is longing for in an incredibly intense way.  There is a part in I Corinthians 3 about Jesus being our foundation, and how no matter who builds on it – Paul or Apollos- our foundation is Christ and that doesn’t change.  A good prophet builds firm walls for people without the need for whitewashing, deceit, cover up or scandal.  What kinds of walls have been built in my life?  What have I chosen to allow and aid construction for in my life?  What kinds of walls am I building onto other people’s foundations?  Will they stand the test of the fiery furnace? Will they withstand a storm of God’s judgment?  I believe that more than anything else I desire refinement by God.  While it sounds awful scary for the false prophets in Ezekiel, it has caused me to consider what is left after all the whitewashed crap is destroyed?  What am I left with?  The cry of my heart is still that of Ps 51 – I know that God desires truth in the innermost parts and so do I.  

I seem to be left with more questions than answers on this from Ezekiel, but I have feeling there is more to come on all this.  On a more practical note, these things are happening in my life.  I am being changed and disciplined by the experiences around me and it seems like I fail time after time, but somehow it’s getting better.  My lifegroup girls are amazing and are teaching me a lot about becoming the person I want to turn into.