As most of you know, the water from your sinks, showers, bathtubs and toilets goes down into drainpipes. If you live in a town or city, these pipes eventually drain into very large pipes that are usually under the street. These large pipes collect the wastewater from thousands of homes, taking it away to a sewage disposal plant where the water is treated and purified. Sometimes the large pipes under the street need repairs, and for this reason there are holes in the road called manholes. These holes are usually covered with heavy metal covers that can be removed to allow workmen to go down and inspect or repair the sewer lines.
A few years ago in the city of Toronto, Canada, a workman went down into a manhole to work on a big sewer line. A lot of sewage was flowing rather quickly in that particular part of the system. The place where he was standing was very slippery, so he had to be extra careful as he worked. Suddenly his light went out, and when he reached out to try to fix it, he lost his balance and fell into the flow of sewage! There he was in total darkness under the street, being carried along by that flow of very dirty water. He tried hard to stop himself and crawl back to the place where he had fallen in, but the current was too strong and the pipe was too slippery. He just could not stop himself from being carried along.
This reminds us of how sin acts on us. If we are not saved, we are like that workman who fell into that filthy water and was not able to help himself. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get out. The Bible says that without Christ we are “without strength” (Romans 5:66For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)) and that we are “sold under sin” (Romans 7:1414For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. (Romans 7:14)). Just as that workman became very dirty in that water, so we are filthy before God because of our sins.
What was the poor workman to do? Even if he shouted for help, no one would have heard him down in that sewer. But thankfully someone discovered the problem. His coworker was up in the truck, and he heard a commotion when the light went out and the workman fell into the water. The coworker went down the ladder into the manhole and quickly realized that the workman had fallen into the sewage. He immediately went back up, called the sanitation department at the city hall and told them what had happened. But no one there knew what to do! They did not know where the man was under all those hundreds of roads in the big city of Toronto, and they did not know how to rescue him. More than this, they knew that if someone did not rescue him soon, he would be washed down to a place where there was a very steep drop in the pipe. Then he would almost certainly be badly hurt or even killed.
Again, this is like the sinner before God. Many people are trying to get right with God by doing good deeds - helping their neighbors, giving money to poor people, and other things like that. Some people make New Year’s resolutions, trying to get free from bad habits. But the Bible says that “all our righteousnesses [good works] are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:66But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)). The workman in that sewer struggled, but the more he struggled, the dirtier he got. So it is with sin. We cannot get free from sin by our own efforts. But God has made a way for you and me to be saved from our sins. And someone down at city hall came up with a plan to save the workman.
An engineer heard about the problem, and he quickly took out a map of the sewage system. “Where did the man fall in?” he asked. Someone pointed out the exact spot. The engineer knew where the sewage would flow from that point and how fast the current was flowing, so he made some fast calculations. Then he called other workmen on their cell phones and said, “Go to a certain intersection, open the manhole, and you should be able to catch him in a few minutes.”
As you may imagine, the men drove quickly to the intersection, opened the manhole and went down inside. Sure enough, within a minute or two the man floated right to them, filthy dirty and weak but still struggling to try to save himself. How relieved he was when he recognized some of his fellow-workers, and strong arms lifted him out of that awful water! Thankfully he was not hurt, and after a good, hot shower he was all right.
Children (and grown-ups too), God has made a way so that you too can be saved from the filth of sin. This world has tried many things to get rid of sin, but the Bible says that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). However, God has sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. By simply believing on Him, our sins can be washed away, for “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). That man in the sewer could not get out by himself, for he was only getting weaker as he struggled in that slippery pipe. He needed someone else to save him. It did not cost the engineer much to figure out how to find him, and it didn’t cost his fellow-workers much to go down and lift him out. But God had to send His only Son to die so that you and I could be saved.
What would you have thought if the workman in the sewer had refused the help and told the men that he could get out by himself ? Of course he did not do that; he knew he could not save himself. How sad it is that many people today are refusing to come to the Lord Jesus because they do not realize that they need a Saviour. Will you let Him save you today?
ML-04/16/2006