God made us for His own glory.
Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Made in God’s image, created according to His likeness, we are a unique intersection among all His creatures. We are not angels, for we have bodies. We are not animals, for we have souls. We are made to love God supremely, love others rightly and steward the creation responsibly. God blesses us so that we would be a blessing. As His goodness is mediated through us, so His glory is manifested in us.
We’ve got a plumbing issue. Pipes are meant to carry, to convey, to transport water from one place to the next. When a pipe fills up the space around it with water, we call it broken. When humans make God’s blessings about themselves, we call it fallen. As soon as Adam and Eve started living for themselves, for their own glory, they fell from their original state of righteousness. This is the insidiousness of pride. Augustine called this the Fall. Another good term is the Rupture. Without Christ we are ruptured pipes, pooling our Creator’s blessings all for ourselves, for our own fun and fame. Born again by the Spirit, being renewed in Christ, we are being progressively sanctified. We’re being repaired.
We still leak. We’re still prideful. We still tend to make God’s goodness about ourselves. Here’s what I find so compelling about the image of plumbing. It is humble work. Plumbers have to do some of the most low and disgusting work. Christ condescended in ultimate humility to save our souls. As our Archegos, He has blazed the trail through humility to exaltation. As our Captain, He calls us to follow Him on this same trail. As our Author, He has already written the script for our holiness. Are we willing to do some humble plumbing?
One thing I have noticed about my efforts at plumbing… I make a huge mess, do it poorly and must try again and again to see some limited success. Another thing I have noticed about plumbing… it does not last forever, I must be willing and ready to go back and make further repairs. I’ve noticed these things about my pride as well. It is easy to let prideful thoughts abide in my mind. It is easy to steer conversations toward prideful themes. It is easy to find offense in and take umbrage with those I’m called to sacrificially love. I still have a continual need for humble plumbing.
Romans 7:24-25 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
