Icebergs

From a distance icebergs are impressive, even beautiful. Up close they can be dangerous. Most of the iceberg, 90% they say, is hidden below the water line. To approach closely is to risk serious or even fatal damage to the ship’s hull.

Are we that way more often than we’d like to admit? We have our public image, our outward appearance that looks good to others. But when they rub into us up close it’s another matter. What we’ve been harboring inside comes into play. Warmth, hospitality and flexibility are not the attributes of an iceberg.

Jesus had severe words for those who pretended to be one thing but inside were something very different. He said, “Everything they do is done for men to see.” Matthew 23:5. We are adept at trying to make ourselves look good but is it only external or superficial?

What is the issue that causes us to do that? We are in it for ourselves, not the Lord and not for others. We don’t have the priority of honoring the Lord but strive to enhance our own image. I know that from personal experience. This is directly opposite to what Jesus taught as the two most important priorities. They are: Love the Lord your God (that’s first) and love your neighbor as yourself. (That comes second). See Mark 12:30 – 31.

That melts the iceberg and turns it into life giving fresh water in the midst of undrinkable ocean water. For the iceberg the fresh water is soon lost in the sea. We don’t have to let that happen to our attitude in our community. This transformation can happen as we place our faith in the Lord to forgive our sins and make us a new person.

Keeping on the sunny side,

Henry Wiebe