This spring we were able to install a Toyo stove, a small oil furnace,
in our home. This new addition meant that during the shoulder seasons,
spring and fall, instead of trying to regulate the wood stove as the
temperatures vary so greatly throughout the days and nights, we could
keep the house at a steady temperature. So far it has been great.
Running the Toyo also presented me with the opportunity to give the
wood stove a much needed inspection and cleaning. Emptying the ash,
checking the bricks, damper and the seal, scrubbing its glass fronted
door of layers of soot was a rewarding experience. The stove looked so
neat and tidy when I was finished, ready for another cold winter. And
yet, the one most important thing was not yet done: cleaning the stove
pipe. If the pipe is not cleaned of the deadly and unseen creosote which
builds up as the fire burns, a devastating chimney fire can be ignited
and bring about the loss of life and home. Remembering this I let my
local chimney sweep know I needed his services.
The Pharisees in
today's scripture needed to clean their stove pipes too. Wrong views
concerning religious tradition and ritual had caused their lives to
accumulate layers of sinful attitudes, thoughts and actions which kept
people from God instead of drawing them to Him.
The Pharisees saw
themselves as better than others. They prided themselves on their clean
lives. They had forgotten and neglected that which truly mattered: Love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons
of your Father in heaven. "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew
5:44-45 NIV How about us today as God's people? Are our lives congruent
inside and out? Have they been swept clean by the ultimate chimney sweep
of our souls, or like the Pharisees, do we appear pious on the outside
with our clean lives while our unclean spiritual attitudes and
behaviours drive people away instead of drawing them toward a loving
Heavenly Father? Perhaps it time for a reality check.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we want to do what is right in your sight. We want to
burn brightly for Christ and the kingdom. Come today and sweep us clean
of ungodly thoughts, attitudes and ways that we might indeed lead lives
of holy congruency inside and out. In the wonderful name of Christ we
ask. Amen.
Lynne Phipps
Atlin, B.C.
