Sin Clog (you know you want to read this one!)

"God never reveals our hearts to discourage us. Convicting us of sin is one of the most profound ways he demonstrates his love for us" (Paul Tripp).

I worked my way through college on the campus maintenance crew. Periodically I would be called to one of the ladies' dorms for a slow shower drain. Inevitably a crowd would gather as I ran an elongated coat hanger down the drain. The girls would gather in closely as I turned the hanger around and around and slowly began to pull it to the surface... I'm not sure what they were anticipating, but by the time the wad of slimy hair, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a cat-sized rat, was resting on their shower floor, there was not a girl in sight. Above the clammer of slamming doors echoing down the hall I would shout "Hey, it's YOUR hair!" Maybe this is why I had to go off campus to find a bride, but that is neither here nor there.

In similar fashion, the Word of God reveals our hearts to us. The contents of hate, lust, and all kinds of evil (Matt 15:19) shouldn't surprise us, but all too often our deceitful heart (Jer 17:9) tells us that our problems must either have originated els-ware, or they aren't so bad after all. Then, rather than standing and dealing with what is revealed we run away screaming like a college girl. Rather than being grateful for the messenger who applied the tool of God's Word to our life we look on him/her with disdain, forgetting that the "clog" came from our own heart.

God, in His rich grace gives us His heart revealing Word. He gives us men and women who love us enough to hold the mirror of God's Word (Jam 1:22-25) in front of our eyes. Every one of us has a nasty hair-ball of sin in there causing a backup of problems in some shape or form. What we choose to do about it is up to us, but I pray we will all remember the kind words of Paul Tripp. "God never reveals our hearts to discourage us. Convicting us of sin is one of the most profound ways he demonstrates his love for us."

When God comes as a maintenance worker will His love for you cause you to stand and face the truth, or will your love for yourself cause you to run away and slam the door?