Liquid Nitrogen....

I hear conflicting reports about dealing with sin. There are those who say that sin must be dealt with ruthlessly, That effort and time must be put in to eradicate it from our lives. Then there are others who would say that God is a gentleman and never would impose His will on our lives. That His approach is an invitation to bigger things. Although these seem to be completely different world views of God and sin, I now see that they are inter-connected and both right.

Recently, I went to the doctor with a number of very minor concerns. I am preparing to go away for 6 months, and this has created an urgency in me to ask all those questions that one puts off for another day. One of the very minor questions I asked was about a spot on my finger. Initially I thought it was a sliver that had sort of grown over and created a callous but 1.5 years (yes, YEARS) later it has not changed or grown or healed and so I asked the question.... what is this? The doctor told me it was a wart and he could take care of it in the office immediately. All it would take was some Liquid Nitrogen.

So, how is a wart like sin? As I sit here, there are 42 different paths that I could take to answer this question, but I will follow on the original tack.

Let me tell you about my doctor, he is an older gentleman, soft spoken, caring, and kind, yet he knows what he is doing and is very good at it. He is quick to set you at ease, and takes the time to help you understand what the situation is. He came back into the office with the liquid nitrogen and prepared to take care of my wart. Suddenly I realized that extreme cold, and my water-filled skin cells weren't going to get along very well! I asked if it was going to hurt, he assured me that it would hurt, but not too much. With strength that I couldn't have imagined he held my finger in one hand and applied the liquid nitrogen right on the spot where the wart is, then he held it there.. for a long time. As he did this, he explained that the cold kills the cells of the wart and that they die and fall off. He mentioned that he was going to do a second application to ensure that we got to the root of it. It is now a few days later, and the spot still hurts, but I know that soon I will see the benefit as this wart falls off my finger.

It seems to me that this is a great metaphor for sin. God IS a gentleman, He does invite us to be in relationship with Him. If we follow His advice and counsel, we are in good hands. Just like my doctor would not have come and found me at home, held me down and applied the same treatment, God doesn't force Himself on us. I do know from personal experience though, when we invite God into our lives, and ask His assistance with sin, once we submit, the procedure of dealing with sin MUST be ruthless, can be painful, and it sometimes needs to be repeated. God's strength is sufficient to not only deal with the surface, but to get right down into the root.

Grace is sufficient and abundant for those moments when we see the sin, yet are not ready to deal with it-just yet. We all have people around us who we see their warts (and they see ours) and our temptation is to deal with THEM ruthlessly. That is not our job, God doesn't invade your life, and He won't invade others' lives. But He does call to us in the night, He does make us uncomfortable, He does give us opportunities to draw close.... then, just when we are ready.... HE takes us in His arms, assures us that although it's likely going to hurt, HE has the answer and the cure. Then He goes to work.... ruthlessly..... lovingly.

Is there a 'wart' in your life that you need treatment for?