There’s a Permanence to Our Words and Deeds
In the Almaty region of Kazakhstan is a hot spring that gushes water year-round. Through the summer this creates a bit of an oasis on the otherwise arid plain.
But in the winter, something different happens. The dry air and deep frigid temperatures cause the spouting hot mist to freeze almost instantaneously, creating a chimney of ice. In the winter of 2020/21 the air was particularly dry and cold. As a result, this hot spring created an ice volcano 45 feet tall. The ice volcano became a popular attraction to both tourists and locals.
Think about it. What if all our words and actions were like hot water spouting into frigid, dry air? What if all those words and deeds immediately hardened and became a permanent monument to the way we lived our lives?
This could be bad or good. For the person whose thoughts, words, and deeds have been impure and hurtful, such a monument would not only be revealing but shameful. It would be like an overflowing frozen cesspool – nasty to the eyes and putrid to the nose. Yet that’s precisely what we’re building for eternity when our hearts are in rebellion against God, when our lives are out of sync with His plans and purposes.
God can see the accumulation of all our thoughts, words, and deeds. They may be building into something horrific, an eyesore, something that is best torn down. Whatever it is that we’re building, it will be exposed at the end of the age when God reveals and judges our lives (1 Corinthians 3:13).
Fortunately, as the warm sun will eventually melt this ice volcano away, so the Son of God can melt away the ugly appearance of our life. His blood can remove every stain (1 John 1:7) and under His leadership our lives can build into something beautiful.
Yes, our thoughts of love, kindness and humility will breathe forth and build a life that is pleasing in God’s sight. Then our life’s monument will become a glorious ice castle, crystal clear and gleaming. Our life’s monument will honor God and inspire others. The day of the Lord will reveal the glory and magnitude of a lifetime of good and loving deeds.
As Daniel prophesied, “many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:2-3).
PRAYER: Dear Father in heaven, please cleanse and purify my heart and mind. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and cause me to breathe forth a life of righteousness, beauty, and love. Remind me, dear Father, that my words and deeds are becoming hardened and permanent, so that with them I’ll build something good and pleasing in Your sight. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
(Information from: https://www.businessinsider.com/ice-volcano-45ft-high-kazakhstan-spring-water-2021-2)
