“Then Huram cast a large round tank, 15 feet across from rim to rim, it was called the Sea. It was 7-1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference” (1 Kings 7:23).
A great big pool. Appropriate, don’t you think? This weekend marks the day set aside for memorializing those who have passed and the big day for pool owners across our nation. A day of inflating floaties and rafts, pulling lawn chairs from garages and setting them beside decks, digging for swimsuits in the bottom of dresser drawers and stringing beach towels across railings to dry in the summer sun.
You do know the meaning of the Sea, don’t you? It was the basin of water used by the priests to cleanse themselves in before ministering in the Temple. The Sea is where they carried out ritualistic cleansing ceremonies to make themselves pure enough to enter the holier parts.
But, this huge pool, wasn’t near big enough. To tell you the truth, as I think of my sins alone, an ocean wouldn’t have sufficed, either. We needed something bigger, something purer, something with the capability to wash away sins. So God sent Christ.
Through Him our sins can be forgiven. By His blood the darkest of hearts can be washed white as snow. Because of His sacrifice, washing our hands in a certain manner is not necessary in order to serve Him.
If you celebrate by the pool this weekend…or anytime this summer, think of what He’s done.
Malinda Edgell
Illinois
PRAY TOGETHER: Invite someone to join you tomorrow for church and then for a meal. Pray for this person and for your church body today.
