Where Sin Abounds

Sunday April 5, 2009

Walking along a bustling street in central Bangkok the sites and smells are exhilarating. Pink taxi cabs, scooters and masses of people crowd utilize this busy street.  Occasionally you find yourself dodging a scooter which has moved onto the sidewalk in an apparent attempt to avoid slowing traffic.  Like many of the large cities of the world Bangkok displays great affluence and abject poverty all on a single city block.   We passed a river or canal which was polluted and lined with litter.  Plastic jugs and trash rushed along with as the water headed toward the sea.  Yet, in this setting of poverty there is beauty to be seen.  It’s hard to argue with the beauty of a tree, lush and green, lending shade without charge to any who wish to pause beneath its canopy.  The prophet Jeremiah wrote metaphorically about a tree planted near water.  He suggest that proximity to water and proximity to God share similarities…  “He will be strong, like a tree planted near water that sends its roots by a stream.  It is not afraid when the days are hot; its leaves are always green.  It does not worry in a year when no rain comes; it always produces fruit.”  (Jeremiah 17:8 NCV) 

The paradox of what caught my eye next was stunning.  Just a few feet from the sidewalk stood a man-made pond that at one time was most certainly an object of pride and beauty.  Once it had been a object of sheer beauty, a concrete lined landscaped ponds complete with running water, an oasis next to a sun scorched sidewalk.  It was obvious that the pond had been grossly neglected or even abandoned.  The water was putrid in color, dark green mucky and thick in texture.  Yet in the middle of that putrid, neglected pond water standing proud above the bits of litter, a flower stood casting its beauty toward all who passed.   It was a vivid picture of grace and beauty rising above that which was unpleasant and neglected.  I remembered those hopeful words in Romans 5:20 “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more. (NIV)

Grace and beauty are found in Jesus.  No matter what your circumstances may be, Jesus would love to sustain you while making something beautiful out of your life.

I’m still missing you as I pray for God to give you wisdom and revelation.