Bones

by melissa bradshaw

With a shovel in one hand and a bucket in the other, Sam went into his backyard. He was going to dig for worms. The next day he and his grandpa were going to the lake to go fishing!

Shortly after Sam began digging, something caught his eye. Bones!

At first Sam was startled, but then he leaned in for a closer look. It wasn’t long before he began to imagine himself as an explorer finding the bones of an extinct animal. Tossing the shovel aside, he grabbed a stick to carefully clear away the dirt.

More and more bones began to appear—a skull, ribs, and a spine. Then he spotted the tiny bones of the hands and feet. He was finding a whole skeleton, piece by piece! 

Sam scratched his head. Where did this creature come from? How long has it been here?

Then he remembered! Some time ago his dog Rover had found a squirrel the neighborhood cat, Morris, had caught!

So that’s where the squirrel went! Sam thought. Rover must have buried it here! Mystery solved!

Sam’s discovery reminds me of a story from the Bible—a story about bones.

In the book of Ezekiel (chapter 37) God gave the prophet Ezekiel a dream. In the dream Ezekiel found himself walking through a valley full of dry bones. Then in verse 3 God asked him, “Can these bones come back to life?”

What a strange question! Bones can’t live again . . . can they?

Ezekiel replied, “Lord, only You know.”

God then asked Ezekiel to speak to the bones. When he did, the bones began to rattle and move! They came together, bone by bone. Muscles and skin appeared. Before long, a huge army stood before him—once dry bones, now alive!

God used this dream to show Ezekiel that His people, Israel, were like those dry bones. They had lost hope. Their hearts felt far from God. But God had promised to forgive them, fill them with His Spirit, and give them new hearts that could love and obey Him (Ezekiel 36:26, 27).

The Bible tells us that one day Jesus will return! On that day His voice will be heard by everyone. The bones of the saints, sleeping in their graves, will rattle and move! Jesus will give them brand-new strong and healthy bodies. 

Sometimes our hearts can become stubborn or disobedient, but Jesus can give us new life, just as those bones in Ezekiel’s dream were given! He can make our hearts new and ready to listen. He can fill us with the Holy Spirit, who will help us live for Him every day.

I want Jesus to give me a new heart today and every day. What about you?

This article is provided by My Place with Jesus, a ministry of It is Written, a Christian media ministry based in Chattanooga, Tennessee that has been proclaiming the message of God’s love since 1956. Check out more fun and games on the My Place with Jesus website!