Water Always Wins

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:21

For years now I have been a fan of talk radio. This isn’t to say that I don’t like to listen to music on the radio, but if you stop and think about it, listening to music on a car radio is an exercise that usually leaves you searching the dial to hear the end of your favorite songs and commercials.  So my solution is to listen to talking heads tell me about the news, weather, sports, and any other topic that piques my interest at the time..

One of those talking heads is a “Master Handyman” who likes to provide callers with Do-It-Yourself advice. He’s a practical, informative guy who tries to help without a lot of hype.  He also has a few catch phrases that will help him drive home his points to listeners.  For example, when it comes to maintaining your home you should remember that water always wins.

When you think about it, the statement is true. A flooded basement can quickly cause thousands of dollars of damage.  Leaky walls and roofs lead to structural damage and mold.  Running water along the house will cause erosion to your landscaping and eventually your foundation.  Now before my examples lead you to believe that water is evil and shouldn’t be trusted, remember that water is a basic, essential part of life.  Seventy-one percent of our planet is covered by water. Obviously this has a tremendous impact upon our climates.  Without water plants and animals can’t survive.  In fact, according to information found on the United States Geological Survey’s website, up to 60% of a human adult’s body is water.  Funny how the same thing can be so beneficial and yet damaging at the same time.

This is just one of the many examples of how seemingly contradictory things exist within our world. The book of James talks about how the human tongue can so easily shift from praising to cursing.  Same part of the body possessing the ability to do great and horrific things from one moment to the next.  In fact, the tongue serves as a microcosm of how sin can trap mankind, twisting us into thoughts and actions that we otherwise would prefer to avoid.  How many fights have broken out over misunderstandings or ego run amok?  A simple glance across a room can lead to a lascivious thought which in turn can lead to the hurt and damage caused by any number of sexually immoral actions.  The gain of a friend or colleague can fester thoughts of inadequacy or jealousy.  Sin has twisted God’s perfect creation into any number of conflicting, complicated problems which we’d be better off avoiding, but it doesn’t stop there.  Over time, the sin so permeates our lives that we go from loathing it to accepting it to finally desiring it as a good and beneficial thing.  It’s the homeowner’s equivalent of going home today, turning on your garden hose and filling your house with water so you can invite your friends over to swim.  So if water always wins, sin always wins in a blowout!

Except it doesn’t.

We are powerless to the trap of sin in our lives. We were born in it, are surrounded by it, and create it on a daily basis.  So just like a person who is drowning in a pool needs a lifeguard to pull them out of the water, we also need someone to pull us away from the sin in which we have immersed ourselves.  God has provided us this life preserver through His Son, Jesus.  As true God and true man, Jesus was able to live without sin – not so much as a dip of His toe in the water.  But instead of being rewarded for being the one and only person in history to live a sinless life, He was forced to pay the wages of sin – namely death on a cross.  In human terms, we would declare this unfair, but Jesus understood that His sacrifice would make it possible for those of us who couldn’t escape our sin to be rescued, redeemed, and restored to be in a right relationship with God the Father in Heaven.

Jesus has won for us a victory that can never erode. But do remember to clean your gutters…