The Unclogging Process

After two days of watching my enthusiastic relatives work to clear my basement pipes, I’m sad to say they remain clogged. Things other than pipes, however, have been unclogging.

It began as blog readers shared their plumbing adventures with me and each other. Nancy wrote, “We had rocking toilets, collapsing sewer pipes, root-clogged drainage pipes, and so much more. One time our shower water was not going down, so David took the entire drain apart. I went upstairs and looked at the ‘air hole’ under the faucet, which was full of hair. I pulled the hair out, and David, who was downstairs looking up, got a face full of water.”

But Nancy also wrote about clogs of a different sort, the things that clog relationships and inhibit the important back-and-forth flow of communication between two people: “God used our house issues to teach David and me how to communicate without sharp words and with lots of love. Just like frustration levels soar with blocked pipes, so other emotions can sneak in and [clog our relationship], leading to spilled words that don’t belong in a marriage.”

She described how sin between two people (or between one person and God) is hidden from view when it begins, and then unforgiven sin is the start of big-time clogs in the relationships. The Bible says we’re to be “quick to hear,” and if someone can’t hear what God or each other is saying because sin is clogging the way, relationships dry up in a hurry. The reverse is true, too. Where would we be without the ability to pour out our troubles to God?

Clean drain

Yesterday my sister mentioned a TV ad from long ago in which a clear acrylic drain trap under the sink was filled with gunk. When the drain-clearing product being advertised was poured into the acrylic pipe, we watched in amazement as the clog rushed away like a mini-roller coaster on a track, allowing clean water to flow freely through the pipe.

That’s exactly how it is when we keep current in our communication with God and each other. As soon as the slightest bit of goo accumulates in the lines between us, we should quickly route it out before it gets big enough to hinder the flow. If the talking-listening paths become as badly clogged as my basement pipes are, restoring the back-and-forth of open communication might take days or even weeks.

Possibly...

It may not happen at all without painful excavating, followed by major reconstruction…. which is exactly where I fear my basement pipe-project is going.

I have an ace-in-the-hole, though: Nancy.

If I become feeble in whatever plumbing process lies ahead of me, I can always email her voice of experience, and I know she’ll “hear me clearly.”

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

From Good to Groaning

Garden of EdenI like to think about what life must have been like in the Garden of Eden, not just to wonder what a sin-free world looked like but to get a glimpse into our own futures. Someday we’ll be living on the New Earth, which will probably be much like Eden.

 

Good morning!

This morning, as I was waking up, I looked out my bedroom windows to see an unspoiled snowy landscape here in southwest Michigan. It struck me that Adam and Eve never saw snow when they woke up. They were comfortable living naked, which speaks to warm temps both day and night, probably a steady 72. So apparently snow and freezing weather wasn’t part of God’s original plan for humanity.

But what else wasn’t in the garden? Melting ice caps, oil spills, flooding, drought, forest fires, tsunamis, and super storms.

Has nature run amuck?

Although we humans are endangered by, and sometimes fearful of these climate extremes, God isn’t nervous about them at all. He has complete control over the weather (which includes global warming) by merely a whispered word. His power over our globe is not only unequaled, it’s absolutely sovereign.

So why doesn’t he do something to reign in all the wild extremes?

God knows that every dysfunction in the natural world is a result of the rebellion that got started in his unblemished garden. Our rebellion. If we’d have done things his way, none of nature’s negatives would have come to be. The fact that we’re experiencing them now is just a long-term natural consequence of our flawed behavior. God admits that through Scripture: he originally labeled our planet “good” but has now down-graded it to “groaning.” (Romans 8:22)

He also recognizes that nature isn’t the only thing groaning. We are, too: “We believers also groan… for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope.” (v. 23)

And therein lies God’s reason for not speaking words that will still the storms and save our planet. He wants us to get excited about the future when he’ll re-balance nature and return everything to the way it was in the beginning. He wants us to long for it, hope passionately for it, and get others excited to do the same. He’s hoping we’ll believe the words of Scripture about the New Earth and speak confidently to others about our God’s abilities and his faithfulness to his promises.

Outside my windows

So when I’m tempted to admire the snow blanketing my neighborhood, I should remind myself that running around naked in it wouldn’t be any fun at all. Brrrr.

”Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.” (Romans 8:20-21)

Fire!

Back when I was a child, school teachers taught us about the origin of fire and how cave men (who descended from apes) figured out how to rub sticks together to make it. Eventually they used fire to stay warm, roast meat, light darkness, and in other ways make life better.

The Bible taught that the first people, Adam and Eve, didn’t descend from apes at all but were created by God. Most likely they were given a knowledge of tools and, through God’s instruction, knew what fire was and how to start one. I’m not sure they had much use for it at first, though, since Eden’s climate was perfect. (They were happily naked, and extra warmth apparently wasn’t needed.) As for cooking, fresh fruits and vegetables were delectable without being roasted, so meal prep didn’t need fire, either.

Once sin occurred, however, fire came in handy. Animal sacrifice became the norm, necessitating burnt offerings. And since they’d been given permission to eat meat by that time, they also needed fire to cook it.

As I’m writing this, I’m appreciating fire in a different way, enjoying the dancing flames in our fireplace. They’re warming the room and creating a lovely ambiance. But fire can also get out of control, doing major damage to people, places, and things.

Tree surgery

Last weekend we used fire in a Christmas season tradition when we burned our tree. The children gingerly extracted ornaments through prickly branches while Hans and I removed the lights. When the “snippers” and a saw came out, small fry fascination grew. And when Hans lit the heap of branches he’d stuffed into the fireplace, the kids went speechless.

A couple of times, as fiery branches toppled out onto the hearth, Hans and I had to move fast to regain control. But all in all it was a spectacular display.

Wild fire!

Fire produces high heat, and high heat can do wonderful things: sterilize a needle, bake a chicken, light a scented candle, power a furnace, or roast a marshmallow. But like all positive things, if allowed to escalate, it can hurt and destroy.

God has given many good gifts to mankind, and every one of them can be taken to unhealthy, harmful extremes. In his hands, though, fire (as in a “fiery trial) can refine us, cleanse us, give birth to a passion, or be a symbol of God’s presence. In special cases, he uses fire as judgment, calling himself “a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29) His judgment is always righteous, perfectly meted out to the situation, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. Interestingly, though, God has also given us water powerful enough to squelch any fire: the living water of Jesus, i.e. salvation. And when we receive this gift, the Spirit comes to dwell within us.

BTW, that same Spirit arrived to the very first believers as (guess what) a fire.

 ”Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit.” (John 7:38)