Covenant Church

Deep down in the ocean...more than a mile...a hole has been drilled into the earth....down...down...down...a pipe was inserted to allow black gold [oil] to be pumped to the surface and captured.

While there are thousands of oil wells in oceans, one went wrong. Man's genius of engineering failed. Disaster struck. Lives were lost. Millions of dollars of equipment sank to the ocean floor.

But the pipe into the earth was still there. The pressure down in the earth forced the black gold out of the ruptured pipe.

What had been black gold began to come to the surface of the ocean by thousands of barrels per day. What was at first a curious scientific blunder has come to be an environmental disaster. To the moment of this writing the eruption has not been contained.

Voices of concern were raised. But no genius has stepped forward with a magical solution. Multiple efforts are being made to correct a problem that should not have happened.

Oil floats on water. Gradually massive quantities of oil formed on the surface of the ocean. The ocean moves. Currents form. Waves and winds move the waters, as does gravity. The oil moves like an oozing slime...destroying life in its path.

The oil is coming ashore into marshlands and on beaches. The black gold so valuable when confined and used properly is now in this case a curse depriving people of jobs, killing wildlife and fish, and destroying vegetation.

None of this article is news to you. But allow a thought. There is a similitude to how sin works. First, it is innocent. It seems so profitable. It is a golden moment of personal pleasure. Then something goes wrong. It is a disaster that cannot be contained. All the geniuses present cannot put the problem back into paradise. Gradually, the consequences come to the surface. The ugliness of sin forms its own blotch upon the ocean of man's consciousness.

What could have been so beautiful takes on a path of destruction that meanders...with its fingers probing, picking, sticking...and wreaking havoc. Innocence is punished because sin rises to the surface and claims its victim. The innocent pay a price--perhaps a deadly price.

A husband is captive to consequences of a wandering wife. Parents pay for the sin of a child. A child pays for the sin of parents. A community is shamed by the crime of one man. A nation mourns because one college student commits a massacre. Families bury their dead from a terrorist attack. Leaders sin and curse a nation.

It takes a long time to clean up after sin is unleashed. Generations can pass carrying the stigma of failed leadership, e.g., Hitler, Mussolini.

Jesus came to redeem us from sin. He wants the best for us. He wants us to live "golden" lives, and this is not a reference to money, but to peace, joy, and hope. He came to take us out of sin. To clean us up. To wash us by His blood. To make us holy unto the Lord. Watch a person hold a bird and bathe poison off its wings and beak. How gentle. Jesus is ever so much more gentle and he also cleans the inside. Jesus saves us from evil that is to come. He keeps us away from the slimy pools of hell's filth. He preserves us from evil. He protects us in the valley of the shadow of death.

The simple lesson intended by this note of love is to encourage you to be sure that Jesus is your Savior. No dabbling with sin. No risky maneuvers. No sleeping on the job in the enemy's territory.

Remember when tempted that the consequences of succumbing to sin may have an immediate and violent eruption, but the more sustained collateral damage may be weeks, months, even years collecting full wages of sin.

The bad news is: "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a).

The good news is: "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord" (Romans 6:23b).

Jesus is the Genius who can rescue you, no matter where you are, if you will call upon Him. Why not do so today?

Pastor Bare