Rottenness

    Matthew 15:18 ~ But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
    What happens when a home gets a hidden water leak? A lot of damage can be done before the leak is found and fixed. The first clue it is there is the house might smell funny, maybe a little moldy. Does my life or heart smell moldy or a little 'off' to others? to God? to me? Are my words hurtful or edifying?
     The wall or floor may have more give. Am I giving in or yielding to pressure from sin? or from the world? or the flesh? Am I staying firm when sin in any form pushes against me? Or is there a softness? Am I finding it harder to guard my tongue?
     Stains will show up on the wall or floor or ceiling where the leak is. What am I stained with? The blood of Jesus or my own sin; disobedience to God? Have I said things I wish hadn't come out of my mouth? Have I caused another pain by thoughtless speech?
    Usually to fix a leak some of the structure must be torn apart and sometimes it takes some tearing, (looking and searching) to find exactly where the leak is. There may be a period of what appears to be chaos and disuse, but repair is happening.  Without this time of repair and apparent chaos and no water, the wall or floor would rot, eventually becoming so bad that area of the house would collapse. Rottenness spreads. It would not be safe for anyone to walk on the floor. If it were a ceiling it could drop down on anyone or anything under it. The home would be unsafe; rotten.
    When there is a leak, a stain of sin, in my life, I struggle to let Jesus tear something apart to fix it. I want Him to fix it without the tearing apart. But the pulling up and tearing apart shows me why the leak started as well as how much damage sin does to myself and that it affects others. Jesus wants freedom for each of us and to have that we must give Him the freedom to work in us. To cleanse us of  all the sin leaks we have, to clear out all the rotten wood in the walls, that we would be cleansed of all unrighteousness and be made new. So we would not harm others and  would be the finished, usuable building He desires each of us to be.
     So Lord, when we see only chaos and disuse in our life, show us Your hand, that we would have Your assurance that it is indeed You working in us for Your glory and pleasure. With that, may we surrender to Your hand, allowing You to work freely with Your cleansing power as you rebuild what has been damaged.