It Didn’t Make Sense Until Now

My mother told me one time that the preacher at her church “sure gave a good sermon this morning!”  I said “really, what was it about?”  Her answer surprised me, she said “I don’t know but it sure was good!”  That didn’t make any sense to me until I heard another story of the agnostic who did not believe in God.  He was talking to a lady who was a faithful church member.  He said, “I’ll bet you can’t even tell me what the preacher preached on Sunday.”  She replied, “No, but do one thing for me, get that basket over there in the corner and fill it up with water for me.”  Well, he did and after a few minutes of running water through the basket, the man said, “You know that this will not hold water.”  The lady replied, “No, but it is cleaner for just having the water run in it.”  Then she added. “Just like our minds, when the word of God flows through it, we may not retain everything we hear but we are better for just the hearing of it.”

Ephesians 5:22-33 talks about marriage and claims the church is the bride and the husband is Jesus.  In verse 26 it says that Jesus is sanctifying the church (or His bride).  Sanctify means he is setting her apart for a specific purpose.  He goes on to say in the same verse, He is also cleansing her with the washing of water by the Word.  I’m beginning to get it.  His Word is quite powerful.  Powerful enough to cleanse us! 

I will never laugh at my mother again.  Even though she has been gone for a few years now, her wisdom is still huge in my life!