This Old Pipe

I think someone once said that old houses have character.  Now we can get around the word old with synonyms like vintage, rustic, historic, quaint.  But no matter how you spell it, it still comes out O-L-D.  Roof, sidewalks, ceilings, electricity, oh, and let’s not forget the pipes.  Sometimes my vintage-rustic-quaint-historic old house likes to show its character in very inconvenient ways and without much warning.  Like a kitchen sink that refuses to drain—during Christmas dinner preparations.  Or a leaky roof when the snow decides to melt.  Or a patio that looks suspiciously like the aftermath of mild seismic activity.

Here is a photo of one of the replaced pipes.  I think there was supposed to be a hole in the middle where water could run through…??

Somewhere I’ve gotten the impression that plumbers make fairly good money.  Well, if so, good for them, because I know I sure don’t want to deal with all that glucky nasty build-up that blocks the drains and sinks and sewers!  (We even had a dead mole in a pipe one time—UGH!  That was just RUDE!)

 So you can probably guess where I’m going with this, but let me share just two thoughts before you hit the blog-return button.

First, I’m just so glad that Jesus took it upon Himself to help me clean out the pipes in my life and character so that His living water can flow TO me.   And mine were pretty clogged: legalism, pride, and tremendous fear (to name a few).  Then there are/were (an ongoing process, you know…) a plethora of mindsets, habits, choices, offenses, etc.   It wasn’t pretty, and it was all just “normal life” to me.  Who knew?

Of equal importance, Jesus is intending for His abundance to flow THROUGH me.  It’s not about me receiving God’s blessings, but being a conduit of His blessing to others.   I must have a greater impression of urgency concerning what’s at stake when it comes to the full body of Christ: spiritual power/authority/might, souls stepping (or falling) into eternity, and most of all—the honor of Jesus.

Of course, the cost of this was much, much more expensive than my plumber.  I’m just glad I don’t have to foot the bill.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.