The city blocks that use to bustle with life have now been transformed into desolation and death.
Can I ask you a thought provoking question? How would you feel if I came in to that area the hour after the disaster took place with a front end loader and started cleaning up the wreck? Think with me for a minute. Would I do more harm or good if I was running over houses, with a front end loader, that had yet to be searched for people who may have been trapped under the debris in order to start the cleanup?
I believe the answer lies in the report of one Oklahoma news reporter. “The rescue efforts have to be completed before the cleanup can begin”, he said as he surveyed the damage. This news reporter showed me that there is something more important than cleaning up the mess in order for the city to appear normal again. More important are the lives of individuals that are buried beneath the rubble that need to be rescued.
Yes, it is a mess and will need to be cleaned up, but nothing is more important than searching what is not visible to rescue lives and recover the perished right now. Once the rescue mission is complete, then the focus can shift to cleanup and putting appearances back in order.
The sequence of events following the tragedy in Oklahoma can be an example of yours and my heart. The problem with our hearts is only visible by what is seen on the surface of our lives. Our hearts are a wreck and need to be rescued by Jesus. God is not interested in the cleanup crew to come into your life and clean up the bad behavior that lies on the surface in order to make you look good. Rather, God is interested in your heart. Read these powerful words from Jesus about the condition of the Pharisees’ hearts.
Matthew 23:27-28 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
God is concerned with rescuing your heart before polishing your behavior. If your behavior was cleaned up without your heart being rescued first, then you are burying dead bones of your soul beneath the surface.
The same principle applies to us as we carry God’s love to one another. We to must be more concerned about the rescue efforts of the hearts (which means being ok with chaotic lives) of those around us, instead of cleaning up the behaviors that lie on the surface. If we focus on the cleanup before the rescue, we will ultimately bury the dead bones of a person beneath the modified behaviors that are cleaned up on the surface, without ever truly rescuing them.
For now, let our prayers come forth for those families tragically affected by the recent tornadoes and let it serve as a reminder to us that lives are more important than the mess we see on the surface.
