Dry Bones?

'CAN these bones live? is a question posed to the prophet in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel.Ezekiel had had a vision of a valley full of dry bones. God's message to him was that indeed those bones could live again. And soon after, Ezekiel witnessed the spirit of God moving upon the bones as they came together and rose up. Ezekiel's vision, of course, had to do with the restoration of the nation of Israel in exile. But isn't this symbolism meaningful today in relation to our own lives? Dry bones? What about relationships that seem hopeless? Or a career fizzling out? Or an organization where the morale is at rock bottom? Aren't these cases of "dry bones needing new life? Perhaps God's message to us is that there is always a way to reverse something detrimental, regardless of how hopeless it looks. Yet there's a significant requirement. It's embodied in these words from Ezekiel: "Hear the word of the Lord. Christ Jesus voiced God's Word as no one else ever has. It's important, then, to follow his teachings, to put them into practice as best we can. For instance, his counsel about building on the rock rather than on sand can start us on the way to resolving a situation that may have looked hopeless. Rock? Sand? How do we know when we are building on the rock rather than sand? Any activity that is motivated by our love for God's Word is built upon the rock. The opposite, of course, is anything that we do purely out of self-interest. That would be building on sand. Our love for God would naturally include a love for the fundamental truths of God and of the man that He creates. These truths can rightfully form and govern our values, affections, aspirations. We find these truths in the Bible. But adopting them wholeheartedly into our lives often takes great effort. The simple acceptance of them, however, is an important first step in building our lives on the rock. John's Gospel tells us that Jesus said, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. The truth he showed is that God is divine Love, who creates and governs through love alone. Also, he showed that God is Spirit, and that all God makes expresses the nature of Spirit, including man, who is His image. God has all-power, and He creates and sustains life in Spirit, not in matter. Jesus also showed through his healing works the ability of divine Spirit to protect and uphold its creation. The Master's pure goodness and his understanding of divine law enabled him to resolve troubles that appeared unsolvable. He repeatedly brought life to dry bones. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, grew convinced, through years of deep Bible study and revelation, that Jesus' healing work pointed to the spiritual order of creation, governed by God's law. In her book Unity of Good Mrs. Eddy says: "The talent and genius of the centuries have wrongly reckoned. They have not based upon revelation their arguments and conclusions as to the source and resources of being,--its combinations, phenomena, and outcome,--but have built instead upon the sand of human reason. They have not accepted the simple teaching and life of Jesus as the only true solution of the perplexing problem of human existence. When we look at the challenges in our lives from the standpoint of Jesus' teachings and the Science underlying them, they will appear solvable. We will see them in a new light, because we'll perceive ourselves more in the true light, as God's offspring. The "dry bones will begin to gather together and rise up.