Rev. John Glass
THE POWER OF THE SKIP
We have just had decking erected in our garden in time for what we hope will be at least a half—decent summer. l was amazed, however, at the wide disparity between the initial quotes for what was an identical specification.
The problem was solved when l realised that one of the builders was charging for the dismantling of the existing patio and the removal of rubble from the site. Given that the height of the structure was over a metre from the lawn, the others were quite happy to leave the patio in place and simply build above it. The idea made sense to me and l am satisfied with the result. Were you to join us for a cool drink on a summer’s evening you would not be aware of the presence of any former structure — and why should it matter anyway? In a Cotswold garden it doesn’t, but in the kingdom of God it does.
‘Cover-up’ started with fig leaves in the Garden of Eden, and Ezekiel, when referring to an inadequate spiritual leadership that was unwilling to confront its
pressing problems, refers to their stance, or lack of stance, as a whitewash.
God’s response, as recorded in The Message, is, “I’ll dump my wrath on that wall, all of it, and on those who plastered it with whitewash. l will say to them, ‘There is no wall, and those who did such a good job of whitewashing it wasted their time, those prophets of Israel who preached to Jerusalem and announced
all their visions telling us things were just fine when they weren’t at all fine.”‘ (Ezekiel I3: I5). “‘
In the New Testament, Jesus challenges the superficial veneer of super-spirituality in the religious leaders of the day by saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
The essence of confession and repentance is that the skip always has to come on site before any spiritual building can commence. ‘Coming clean’ is essential to becoming clean. The rubbish has to be excavated and dumped somewhere so that real regeneration can begin.
Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” And as to where it has gone, Psalm lO3:l2 tells us, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Well, that is salvation ‘sorted’ — but what happens when problems pile up for believers who need not regeneration, but restoration?
There is a place for casting all our cares upon him but there is often also a need for us to become ‘skips’ for one another. Everyone needs a place to dump their fears, anxieties, questions and confusion at some point in their life.
God understands that, and while He is always there for us, we sometimes need a ‘flesh and blood’ solution — and God makes provision for it.
Galatians 6:l-2, in the Message, says, “lf some- one falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.” Apostles, prophets and all the other five-fold gifts are as wonderful as they are essential, but perhaps the most pressing need in today’s Church is the ‘ministry of the skip‘. At whatever place we are on our spiritual journey, God calls us to either find one or be one.
Barnabas Ministries UK 