Temporary "Fixes"

 

Scripture

 1 John 1:8-9

. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (NRSVUE)

Jeremiah 4:14-18

 ¹⁴ O Jerusalem, wash your heart clean of wickedness
    so that you may be saved.
How long shall your evil schemes
    lodge within you?
¹⁵ For a voice declares from Dan
    and proclaims disaster from Mount Ephraim.
¹⁶ Tell the nations, “Here they are!”
    Proclaim against Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come from a distant land;
    they shout against the cities of Judah.
¹⁷ They have closed in around her like watchers of a field
    because she has rebelled against me,
            says the Lord.
¹⁸ Your ways and your doings
    have brought this upon you.
This is your doom; how bitter it is!
    It has reached your very heart.  (NRSVUE)

Devotion

 Back in April, a passing logging truck severely damaged an electric pole on a corner that I often drive past.  Responders to the incident placed a brace on on the pole to keep it from completely snapping in two.  The first time I saw the street corner in question after the accident, I assumed that the brace was just a temporary fix until a new pole could be obtained.  Over 6 weeks later, the brace is still there.  And while it isn't so easy to the changes from day to day, the damaged pole has gotten progressively worse.  It is more splintered.  The angle seems to have gotten worse. And each time I drive by, I find myself wondering if this will be the day when the whole thing comes down.  

Human sinfulness is like that neglected electric pole.  We may try to brace up our lives and our society with quick fixes or easy solutions, but that is just a temporary fix.  Left unaddressed, the weight of the sins that surround us continue to bear down on us, destabilizing our lives and communities as they slowly splintering everything that  is right and good.  Eventually, something important gives.  And when it all comes crashing down, we find ourselves wanting to blame God for the doom we have really brought upon ourselves.

The Good News, is that we don't have to neglect the things that are splintering in our lives.  Instead, we can address it by repenting of our sinfulness, confessing it to God, and asking for the Holy Spirit's to help us turn things around.  Then, as Jesus cleanses us from our unrighteousness, we can work together to erect a more just and merciful world.  For while our doom may come as a result of our own actions and inaction, God is always ready to hep save us...if only we are willing to do what is necessary to really fix things.

Even though that electric pole is slowly getting worse, I have faith that someone somewhere is taking steps to get it replaced.  And I trust that the day will come when I discover that the splintered, braced up piece of wood has been traded out with something much more structurally sound.  So it is with life.  There are many individual and social ills, but I have faith that God is working in unseen ways to bring people to repentance so that, through the teachings of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can begin building a better world.  The day will come when all that is splintered or broken won't just be braced up; it will be replaced with something entirely new.  And we will rejoice that Christ has transformed the world for the better.

So let's be brave enough and honest enough to look for the sinfulness within and among us.  What is bearing down on our lives and destabilizing our relationships?  What unbearable weight are splintering our society in ways that might make everything snap?  What would it mean for us to stop trying to temporarily brace up those breaking things and instead ask Christ to help us change things for the better--one confession....one sign of true repentance...one faithful and transformative act at a time?

Prayer

LORD, you know the sinfulness I have tried to put of addressing.  I ask you to forgive me.  Give me a repentant heart and a willingness to change so that,  in the knowledge your Word, inspired by Christ's love, and empowered by the Spirit, I may stop pursuing temporary fixes and seek true solutions.  Amen.