Walking through the rubble was a "devotional" moment.

A few days ago, Sandi and I were enjoying a vacation in North Carolina with our 3rd son and family. Now I was walking through the charred remains of my 2nd son's home.

While my daughter-in-law, Summer and the 2 grandchildren were at our house watering plants, a stove malfunctioned and within minutes the house was in flames. They lost everything. But no one was hurt.

As I walked through the rubble, my personal "devotional" was all about what this mess looked like before the fire and about how terrible it could have been. This was a house being made ready to sell. Dean and Summer had painted, fixed trim, put on a new roof, and installed lights in order to sell the house. The roof was completed just a few days ago. It was a simple thing to close my eyes and remember what the place looked like just a few days ago. The memory was so fresh. The contrast was stark. On the other side of the wall behind that stove was my Granddaughters bed. In 20 minutes or so, they would have been at home sleeping. We came very close to unspeakable disaster.

I wonder what God thinks of when he walks through our lives. What could have been? What moral beauty did he create us for? We have gotten used to the rubble of sin but his memory is clear about what he made us for. It must be hard for Him not to cry.

But He also knows how close we come to utter ruin every day. Sin is always like a fire, feeding on itself until everything is destroyed. When we sin, unless something steps in and stops the fire we are always sleeping right next to total destruction. I wonder how often God gasps as we come closed to being burned.

My "devotional" that day taught me a little more about God's great love for us and his passion for our holiness.

¶ 5:56 AM