“And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city, and set your face toward it, and let it be in a stage of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.” Ezekiel 4:3

Ezekiel lived out his ministry in public sight. He was a spectacle to behold. Three hundred and ninety days for Israel. Forty days for Judah. Lying on his side baking barley cake in their sight over cow dung, rather than over human dung as first proposed by the Lord. How would you like to do that?

Ezekiel’s ministry was a very public one and not public in the way you might ordinarily think of public. It was public in the sense that he was on public display. His life itself was a prophetic act. He himself was the message that God was communicating to the people.

Sometimes God uses our life to make a prophetic statement. Jesus’ life was a prophetic statement. It was a life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. It was more than that, but it was that also.

Sometimes the things we go through are downright hard. Our attitude through whatever the enemy throws at us can be a prophetic statement to those around us and to the world around us.

Bishop Desmond Tutu was a prophetic voice. His life embodies racial reconciliation. He himself worked tirelessly to bring about the realities of heaven to earth. He saw himself as a prophetic voice. A book that is a collection of his writings bears the name Crying in the Wilderness.

Some people preach reconciliation. He preaches it and embodies it. His whole life’s work centers on forgiveness, racial reconciliation and conflict resolution. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and was only the second black person ever to receive it.

He had a cause and worked toward it. Maybe he did not give the most awesome dazzling prophetic words that will be recorded in the annals of history. However, he knew what he was called to do and it left a mark on the world. One person can impact the world. Sometimes our life has to embody it.

Ezekiel did not “wow” the people of his day by laying on his side for over a year and cooking his food over cow dung. But his actions are recorded in the Bible for everyone to read throughout the centuries. One life can have an impact. One life can leave its imprint on the world. One life can change the course of history.

Let us be faithful to what God has called us to do. Let our life make a difference. Let history be the judge of our life impact. Sometimes it takes one person to make a difference.

By Ralph Veenstra