On Saturday morning, while I was sitting in on a Bible conference session at our church, a "major catastrophe" occurred across the street in the backyard of our home. Our above-ground pool, which is 26 feet in diameter and holds 13,500 gallons of water, busted wide open! The force of the water gushing forth mangled the metallic structure of the pool, broke our neighbor's fence, and sent debris floating every which way. Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure:
The pool burst forth through the panel containing the return line, which has had a slow perpetual drip. We had seen some rust develop on the panel that had caused us some concern. So we had sanded it, done our best to patch up the leak, but the drip was still there. At the start of the summer, we had some water delivered to top off our pool. At that time we showed the delivery man the leak, and he said, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. I've seen a lot worse. You'll be fine."
I'd like to send him some of the above pictures!
As I look out over my back yard at all the damage caused by this "catastrophe", I'm reminded of the destruction that often occurs on a far greater scale in the spiritual realm. Often there is a leak in one or more areas of our life where something is not right in our walk with the Lord, and a slow, steady erosion is taking place. We see that there's a problem but don't recognize how serious it is. We tell ourselves that it's not that big of a deal, even as we take halfway measures to "patch up" the problem. But we don't deal with it thoroughly - simply because we don't see the catastrophe that lies ahead and the destruction it will cause. For if we did, we would deal with the matter abruptly, doing whatever it takes to fix the problem before it's too late.
Nothing can be done to fix our pool. The damage is far too extensive. Likewise, sin devastates our life and the lives of those around us. God in His grace can make "all things new", but some things cannot be undone; some relationships cannot be restored. Credibility lost is seldom, if ever, fully regained. How important it is, then, for us to "fix the leaks" before catastrophe strikes at an unprepared moment.
Learn a lesson from our pool:
That man or woman is a fool
Who will not fix the leaks of sin
Causing corrosion deep within.
Sooner or later all will give way -
Catastrophe could occur today!
So take the matter before the Lord;
Confess your sin and obey His Word.
Do it right now - you won't regret it;
But sin will destroy you, if you let it.
Amen Matt.
ReplyDeleteI was reminded of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster that happened on January 28, 1986. It was learned that disintegration of the entire vehicle began after a simple O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster failed at liftoff, killing all seven crew members and shocking a nation.
Similarly, sin can disintegrate entire lives from a seemingly normal start. It first tempts, and then it damns. Many a priceless birthright has been bartered away for one bowl of soup, many a marriage and family thrown away for one night of illicit pleasure, and for the temporary thrills of drug and alcohol use, the highest powers of the human brain are routinely and permanently destroyed.
J.C. Ryle, in his book "Holiness" says, "Sin comes to us like Judas, with a kiss, and like Joab, with an outstretched hand and flattering words. The forbidden fruit seemed good and desirable to Eve, yet it cast her out of Eden. The walking idly on his palace roof seemed harmless enough to David, yet it ended in adultery and murder. Sin rarely seems sin at its first beginnings."
Since the Challenger disaster, O-rings and other seals are routinely batch-tested for quality control by the manufacturer; being examined under high-power video microscopes for defects. They remain as one of the most simple, yet highly critical, precision mechanical components ever developed.
So we ask, are we routinely examining our lives under the high-power microscope of the Word of God. Our secret lives provide the real quality control test. "As he thinks within himself, so he is" (Prov. 23:7). If you want to know if sin is preparing to wreak havoc in your life; take a hard look at your private life. When sin is found, allow your Manufacturer to correct the defect...prior to the launch.
Another great analogy! Thank you for contributing to this piece of discussion that touches on a matter so vital to our Christian walk.
ReplyDeleteIt is such a sobering truth. What you are in private is what you are...nothing more.
ReplyDeleteSpurgeon, in his sermon, "The Deep-seated Character of Sin" said, "Tens of thousands of people in this so called Christian land live in utter neglect of God...God is not in all their thoughts. They never pause over an action and ask, 'Will God be angry over this?' There is no God to them, though their table is loaded with the bounties of His providence...they live like brutes and many of them die the same...without God."
Henry Law in his "Family Prayers" prayed, "...may we hate sin with perfect hatred. It is the vile monster which defies Your Power, casts off Your yoke, treads down Your lovely law, defiles our nature, spreads misery throughout this earth, brought death into the world, and nailed the spotless lamb of God to the accursed tree."
And A. W. Tozer in "The Pursuit of God" speaking on self-sins within the church said, "(self-sins) are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders...they appear to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the visible church. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notive."
Sin truly is a vile monster.
"A minister may fill his pews, his Communion roll, the mouths of the public, but what he is on his knees in secret before Almighty God, that he is and no more." -John Owen