Mission, Spirituality, Connecting
Some years ago, a campground manager determined the septic tank for a restroom needed to be pumped. When the truck arrived and the concrete lid to access the tank was pulled, it either broke or was placed at the wrong angle and inadvertently fell into the tank. When the pumping job was completed, a temporary cover was placed over the opening and a new lid ordered.
Some days later, a family was camping in the area. Not realizing any potential danger, their little girl wandered toward where the underground septic tank was located. As the father watched his little girl explore their new setting, he saw her suddenly disappear into the ground. Evidently, the temporary cover either had been moved or was inadequate to secure the opening, and the little girl fell in. Her father rushed to the opening; to his horror, he saw only the dark, murky solution that filled the septic tank.
Prevented from instantly jumping in by the small size of the opening, he could gaze only, with sheer agony, into the offensive mire where his treasured little daughter had disappeared. After what seemed like an eternity, a little hand emerged through the surface. Getting down with his face to the hole, he reached into the muck to grab his little girl's hand. Pulling his treasured child up and out of the pit, love was not deterred by the stench as he began to embrace his precious child and wipe away the filth from her face.
Pretty awful to imagine, huh? The story reminds me of the narrative of the prodigal son in Luke 15. What's different about his story is that his fall into the septic tank of life was a very willful, progressive immersion into sin. I think swine pits and septic tanks are good metaphors for the byproducts of sin. They are really awful, but the sinful nature seems able to adapt quite nicely. Read more.
The message in this section is the Editorial written by the Lake Union president, Don Livesay, reprinted from the current issue of the Lake Union Herald. It will be updated monthly.