30th December 2016

Some people buy a jeep. But my adventure-buttons were all pushed this week by the purchase of a gerni. Not the hospital kind of gurney of course – let’s not get too carried away; but the high pressure, water kind of gerni. And hasn’t it made a difference! My front steps now no longer look like the entry way to Mordor, but like a scene from the Shire. (Wow, to think what Frodo could have done to Sauron’s front yard if he had had a gerni.)

The whole experience of mechanical advantage made me realize that some stains are not removed by mere good intention or repeated effort. I have genuinely tried to hose the steps for years, to keep them clean and well-presented, but have been resisted and outwitted at every turn by stubborn molecules of mould. Ironic really, to think that that the more I hosed the steps, the mouldier they became.

The message and good news of Christianity is that there is a strong outside force that can overcome the mould that is stubbornly entrenched in every heart. Mere human hose-power cannot shift the stain. In fact, all the hard efforts of self-improvement can unwittingly and ironically make the situation worse. A top-down solution is needed, a power from outside and greater than any that can be summoned on earth. And this is what is offered in the Christian gospel: “The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.”

DM 30^th Dec 2016