Stones And Bones

Years ago, when our children were little, we had taken a family vacation to Cape Cod.
We rented a wonderful house situated almost equidistant from the bay and the ocean.
The owners had such lovely taste in their decorating…homey, comfortable, welcoming.
I remember one thing in particular…a bowl of stones!

Stones of deep gray and black…worn smooth from being near the shoreline.
I sat there with the youngest of my children and we played with the stones.
It was mesmerizing…running your fingers over the smooth surface.
In fact, one stone had an indentation that fit my thumb perfectly.

There was a small hand made sign in front of the bowl.
Feel free to take stones home with you…just replace what you take!
What a wonderful idea!
We would choose our favorites to bring home.
We would also select just the right stones for the next person to take home!

Obviously, we have the stone with the thumbprint!
I still have a glass jar with those Cape Cod stones…and the memories!
I always wondered if the next family had any favorites from the stones that we chose.

Stones are lifeless.
There they are…on the shoreline…on the road.
They may catch our eye…they may intrigue us with their shape or texture.
In and of themselves, stones can do nothing.

John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River.
He knew the Pharisees and Sadducees would not confess their sin, repent, and be baptized.
They descended from Abraham…and that was enough.
Except it wasn’t!

And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:9,10)

The self-righteous Pharisees thought that their lineage was enough to get them into the kingdom.
They knew the Scriptures…that had to count for something!
They kept all the feast days…they fasted at the appropriate times!
They gave a tenth to the Lord!

Those things were good things…but they were not enough!
They did not repent of their own self-righteousness.
They did not see how much they needed the Lord.
They relied on themselves for salvation and entrance into the kingdom.

Spiritually, they were lifeless rocks!
They could do nothing on their own.
Yet, John the Baptist said that God could make children for Abraham out of the stones!

If anyone could breathe the Breath of Life into a stone…God can!

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be My people and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:26-28)

God can breathe life into anything He chooses.

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones…”Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O, Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ “
(Ezekiel 37:1-6)

We are no different than the stones and bones.
We are spiritually dead…lifeless…we can do nothing on our own.
Until the Holy Spirit breathes the breath of life into us, we have no desire for God.
We don’t even have the faith to believe.

We could sit before a stone and tell it to believe.
We would sit there forever…but nothing will happen.

However, if God speaks to the stones…or speaks to the bones…and breathes the Breath of Life into them…they will come alive.
In fact, stones can even praise Him.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, a whole crowd of disciples joyfully praised God in loud voices. Some of the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”
“I tell you,”, He replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:39, 40)

Stones and Bones.
Life where there once was death.
Breathe on me…Breath of God!