August 15, 2007

"Indeed, the Lord's hand is not too short to save, and His ear is not too deaf to hear. But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen." Isaiah 59: 1,2

Have you ever watched a brick wall being constructed? It begins with plumb line to get the bottom row straight. Then they begin laying one brick after another in a row. Then comes the second row, brick by brick, carefully lining up with the one beneath it and along the plumb line. It takes time and precision, but brick by brick it goes up, row after row til it is the desired height.

Sin does much the same thing. It comes into our life, one sin at a time; but day after day after day, it builds up and pretty soon there is a wall between us and the Lord. It starts so subtly. One little seemingly innocent thing: an unkind comment uttered behind someone's back; you are overcharged at the grocery and you say nothing, justifying yourself by saying "it was their mistake"; you tell a half truth; you get angry at work and mutter a few four letter words; you skip reading your Bible one day because you are too busy and find it becomes easier the next day to skip it too....you just have SO much to do....pretty soon, you are only reading it now and then; brick upon brick and the wall goes up.

I remember a story once about a family that lived near the desert. The mother had a small child...maybe 15 or 18 months old. One day she was going about her housework, when she suddenly realized that she had not heard her little one, jabbering as she usually did. She began to call out to her...no answer. She went from room to room but could not find her. She began to panic. She ran to the door and found it ajar. She tore around the yard, calling and calling the child's name. No sign of her. With terror gripping her heart, she called 9-1-1. Police came, friends and neighbors came and all joined in the search. The desert was nearby and they feared the worst. She was only dressed in a t-shirt and diaper. For 2 days they searched day and night. The mother and father were grief-stricken at the thought that something had happened to their precious baby. Then, miracle of miracles, they found her! She was asleep under a small bush in the desert nearly a mile from their house! How in the world had such a little one gotten so far? One baby step at a time.

I'm sure she had no intention or plan to walk a mile when she went out the back door. She was probably watching a butterfly or a bird, and just kept toddling away. But pretty soon, if she had looked back, she would have seen her house was almost out of sight. Maybe it got dark and she lost her way, not knowing how to navigate her way back.

And that is exactly what we do. We go blindly down life's pathway, not thinking about what we're doing and how far away from the Lord we are wandering. Then suddenly one day we wake up and look back and marvel at how far from Him we have drifted! We wonder how in the world did that happen? He seems so far away. We seem so out of touch with Him. Our prayers seem unanswered. God has not moved. The only one who has is us! And not only have we moved, but we've built up a wall in the process.

But there is hope. There is a wrecking ball that can crumble that wall! It is I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness". Confession breaks down the wall and points us back in the right direction. Like the rescuers who came to the toddler, He will sweep us up in His arms, hug us tight and say "Welcome Home...I've missed you!"

Don't allow the bricks to accumulate in your life. Be sure that you dismantle them every day. Keep your eyes on the Light of your life and when you start to stray, make a bee-line back. That way the lines of communication will remain open. There will be no barriers in your life and you will know the peace that comes from being in fellowship with your Lord.