Last weekend, I was throwing out some old leftovers and put some chicken down the garbage disposal. In the middle of its chopping and grinding, it started making a strange noise and the sink started filling up with water. I tried several tricks that usually get the water to drain and the disposal working again – but, alas, none of them worked.

So, I called my friend, Cameron, who’s a plumber (1st Choice Plumbing – good people!) and he came out to take a look. He tried several different things – cleaning out the traps, putting an auger down the pipes, etc…but the pesky clog persisted. Finally, he brought in an industrial shop vac, hooked up a plunger attachment to the hose and started sucking everything out of the drain pipe. Apparently, whatever was trapped down there finally broke loose and the drain began working again.

Now, this may be a stretch, but as I thought about my plumbing problems later that day, I saw a spiritual parallel and a lesson to be learned. Our lives without Christ are kind of like the sink that I was throwing leftovers into. Who knows how much junk has been stuffed down that sink over the years…most of which should never have been put down the sink in the first place. Much like the junk we put into our lives, the thoughts we have, the things we do that we shouldn’t…over time that junk builds up and spills over. And when we realize there’s a problem, we try in vain to fix it ourselves – but, alas, nothing we do on our own works. That’s because it takes (to borrow a phrase from an old Wayne Watson song) the touch of the master’s hand.

The only way we’re going to finally be free of that stuff, is to have the master (in this case, our heavenly father rather than a plumber J) come in and remove it for good. It’s not always easy or pretty, but He’s the only one who can clean us up and set us on the right path. He allows the precious blood of His son to wash over us and cleanse us, then clothes us in His righteousness. But unlike the earthly plumber, there’s no bill to pay at the end because He’s already paid it. He’s paid it all. Thank God for his love, grace, mercy and kindness!