You Can't See It But It's Still There

We had the house painted three years ago, and this year, after a long cold winter, I noticed that some of the paint was blistering and flaking off. Upon a closer look and using a screwdriver to help remove the loose paint, I found to my dismay that the wood beneath was beginning to rot. As I explored further, I discovered that the wood was quite dozy — in fact, it was plain rotten. The rotted wood was in the pillars that supported the overhang for our front porch.

Prodding with my probe (the screwdriver) the situation only got worse. The further I went, the worse it got — until I had a hole big enough to put my fist through. My husband and I cut out the rest of the rotted portions of the post and replaced it with new wood. We sealed it and sanded it to prepare it for a good coat of sealer paint. This was something that had not been done in the beginning, and, with all the moisture over the years, the wood had begun to rot under the paint, and didn't show until it blistered and became unsightly.

We could have just painted over the rotted part, but if it were not cut out and replaced, it would eventually have spread and become an expensive proposition to replace the whole post.

Wood rot under a thin coat of paint can go unnoticed until the damage is done underneath. Hidden sin is similar. We can't continue in life, ignoring sin and covering it with a smile. It won't work; the smile will one day turn to tears of pain and suffering if we persist in hiding our sin. It can lie dormant, eating away at our souls, until it is evident. Inside ourselves, we know that sin takes away our ability to see our way out to a better way of life in Christ. He will save us, and we can endure life as it is made new in Him.

Better than a patch-up, and far better than a replacement, Christ gives us something more than we could ever imagine. We are made new and sealed for life with a promise that we will be preserved in the Lamb's book of life.

Revelation 21:27 – Nothing impure will ever enter [the Holy City], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. (NIV)

Prayer: Dear Lord and Saviour of us all, forgive our foolish ways. Prepare us for the day when we will stand in Your presence to be glorified and found sinless, for You have taken it all away. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.