The Muckraker
In 1906 Upton Sinclair wrote “The Jungle.” This novel exposed the corrupt conditions in the meatpacking plants of Chicago. The book was so popular that the public demanded the government take action against the dirty and unsanitary conditions of the meatpacking industry at large. This novel was instrumental in the implementation of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Upton Sinclair was called a “Muckraker” because he exposed the corrupt and dirty conditions of the meatpacking industry of the day.
Muck – a word that brings to mind filth and dirt. Muck – a word that is used to describe the mud deposited in a home after a flood. Muck – a word that conjures up foul smells and slimy ooze.
As the twelve members of the Servant Team from Immanuel awoke on Monday morning, little did they know what the day would bring them. The team arrived on Sunday evening to settle into the camp set up at Lamb of God Lutheran Church of Slidell, LA. The team ate breakfast and awaited their work assignment. “You will be ‘mucking” out houses in Chalmette,” spoke the camp director. So, the team loaded up shovels, wheel barrows, scrappers, hammers and crowbars and set out on the 45-minute drive from Slidell to Chalmette.
The team found out that “mucking” involved removing the contents of the house and setting them at the curb for pickup. On the surface that sounds like a fairly easy job, however, the task is complicated by the fact that there was 4-6 inches of mud and slim over every surface, the ceilings had collapsed leaving dry wall debris over the muck and all of the contents of the house were thrown around much like the balls of snow in a snow globe. The houses in Chalmette had been flooded with 18-20 feet of water standing for over two weeks. The houses and their contents were soaked. In order for the homeowner to start to rebuild, everything from inside the house had to be placed outside. Walls had to be stripped down to the studs, nails pulled and all floor coverings had to be removed. Workers had to wear biohazard suits, gloves, respirators, boots and goggles to protect them from the molds and other airborne contaminants. The work was dirty, smelly and necessary.
That is what our hearts are like. Sin enters into our hearts and deposits layers of muck. The good that we would do is often turned upside down and jumbled into unrecognizable heaps as sin works its way into our lives. We need someone to “muck out” the foul smelling dirt of sin in our hearts.
That someone is Jesus. His redemptive work on the cross removes the muck of sin from our hearts. He creates a new heart within us – free from sin – free from the muck – free from the world. We thank God that Christ mucks out our hearts, for without Him, we would be eternally separated from God.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for removing the muck of sin from our hearts. Amen.
Muck – a word that brings to mind filth and dirt. Muck – a word that is used to describe the mud deposited in a home after a flood. Muck – a word that conjures up foul smells and slimy ooze.
As the twelve members of the Servant Team from Immanuel awoke on Monday morning, little did they know what the day would bring them. The team arrived on Sunday evening to settle into the camp set up at Lamb of God Lutheran Church of Slidell, LA. The team ate breakfast and awaited their work assignment. “You will be ‘mucking” out houses in Chalmette,” spoke the camp director. So, the team loaded up shovels, wheel barrows, scrappers, hammers and crowbars and set out on the 45-minute drive from Slidell to Chalmette.
The team found out that “mucking” involved removing the contents of the house and setting them at the curb for pickup. On the surface that sounds like a fairly easy job, however, the task is complicated by the fact that there was 4-6 inches of mud and slim over every surface, the ceilings had collapsed leaving dry wall debris over the muck and all of the contents of the house were thrown around much like the balls of snow in a snow globe. The houses in Chalmette had been flooded with 18-20 feet of water standing for over two weeks. The houses and their contents were soaked. In order for the homeowner to start to rebuild, everything from inside the house had to be placed outside. Walls had to be stripped down to the studs, nails pulled and all floor coverings had to be removed. Workers had to wear biohazard suits, gloves, respirators, boots and goggles to protect them from the molds and other airborne contaminants. The work was dirty, smelly and necessary.
That is what our hearts are like. Sin enters into our hearts and deposits layers of muck. The good that we would do is often turned upside down and jumbled into unrecognizable heaps as sin works its way into our lives. We need someone to “muck out” the foul smelling dirt of sin in our hearts.
That someone is Jesus. His redemptive work on the cross removes the muck of sin from our hearts. He creates a new heart within us – free from sin – free from the muck – free from the world. We thank God that Christ mucks out our hearts, for without Him, we would be eternally separated from God.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for removing the muck of sin from our hearts. Amen.