Before God with no excuses

God asks us (in Ezekiel 18), ‘Why do you blame your parents (or anyone else) for what is going wrong in your life (vv. 2, 19)?’ We prefer to accuse others, or God, of treating us unjustly rather than to see that God is always dealing with us faithfully (v. 25).
There is something wonderful about being silenced—like a child who runs out of excuses and stands quietly, waiting to see what will happen next. God asks: ‘Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked…rather that he should turn from his ways and live (v. 23).
The world teaches us to blame anything else but ourselves for what goes wrong, but the Lord shows Israel, and us, a better way: stand before God and hear what he says. And what he says is surprising. Wonderful in fact. And we can’t hear it until we stop excusing ourselves.