Carol and I received a special blessing yesterday. A plumber came to our home after church Sunday, fixed our water heater and charged us nothing. How about that! Of course, there’s a little more behind this story. Eric, a master plumber and owner of “Doctor Plumber”, was my confirmation student 25 years ago.
He was a bright young fella, too. He wrote his confirmation essay on a little-known topic of “Double Predestination.” It’s a rationalist idea that since God predestines believers to heaven, He must also predestine unbelievers to hell. Eric had argued against this idea with an uncle, so he asked if he would write his essay about it. He did a good job of proving Double Predestination false, based on the Bible.
Eric’s a good plumber too. Instead of replacing our non-working relatively new water heater, he found a way to fix it. Its Honeywell gas control unit got its electronics messed up, and all it took was a few turns of a dial in the right directions to reset it to heating water again. I took notes in case it happens again.
So many of our electronics today need a periodic “reset” - routers, computers, even TVs. Wouldn’t it be great if we sinful people could get a “reset” for our sins? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if instead of being replaced, we could be forgiven and righteous again?
Friends, that’s what Easter is all about! God knew that without forgiveness we sinful people would perish, so He sent His Son to forgive us our sins by dying on the cross. I’m hopeful the apostle John won’t mind if I rewrite his beloved John 3:16 like this:
“God loved this messed up world so much that He made a “forgiveness reset” for us all. Now whoever has faith in what Jesus did on Calvary and the open grave is forgiven and has eternal life.” (John 3:16 PBV)
Yes, Jesus died, but He is risen indeed - hallelujah! With faith in Him our lives are forgiven, “reset” for heaven!
And how nice it is that our home has hot water again, thanks to Eric, who knows what he’s doing (for your plumbing needs, call 720-276-3000). But especially, thanks be to God for what He did for us. In Jesus, we need not be in “hot water” for our sins any more.
He was a bright young fella, too. He wrote his confirmation essay on a little-known topic of “Double Predestination.” It’s a rationalist idea that since God predestines believers to heaven, He must also predestine unbelievers to hell. Eric had argued against this idea with an uncle, so he asked if he would write his essay about it. He did a good job of proving Double Predestination false, based on the Bible.
Eric’s a good plumber too. Instead of replacing our non-working relatively new water heater, he found a way to fix it. Its Honeywell gas control unit got its electronics messed up, and all it took was a few turns of a dial in the right directions to reset it to heating water again. I took notes in case it happens again.
So many of our electronics today need a periodic “reset” - routers, computers, even TVs. Wouldn’t it be great if we sinful people could get a “reset” for our sins? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if instead of being replaced, we could be forgiven and righteous again?
Friends, that’s what Easter is all about! God knew that without forgiveness we sinful people would perish, so He sent His Son to forgive us our sins by dying on the cross. I’m hopeful the apostle John won’t mind if I rewrite his beloved John 3:16 like this:
“God loved this messed up world so much that He made a “forgiveness reset” for us all. Now whoever has faith in what Jesus did on Calvary and the open grave is forgiven and has eternal life.” (John 3:16 PBV)
Yes, Jesus died, but He is risen indeed - hallelujah! With faith in Him our lives are forgiven, “reset” for heaven!
And how nice it is that our home has hot water again, thanks to Eric, who knows what he’s doing (for your plumbing needs, call 720-276-3000). But especially, thanks be to God for what He did for us. In Jesus, we need not be in “hot water” for our sins any more.
Cool way of thinking about it, right?
Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com
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