Title:- Luther’s Lavatory
1 Samuel 24:3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)
Luther was apparently candid about his constipation. Suffering from such persistent ‘set backs,’ the great reformer spent many hours in watchful and seated contemplation. It was whilst ‘in cloaca’ (on the toilet) that he grappled with and eventually grasped the wonderful meaning of justification by faith alone. The rest of course is glorious history. My two points today are not a matter of crudity but rather a consideration that:
1) inspiration is by no means confined to the sanctuary and
2) that the grounds of our deliberation, wherever they may be, even ‘in cloaca,’ can become the place of His revelation.
Indeed, our verse today is the beginning of the story of King Saul's visit to the toilet. The Holy Spirit reveals to us, right here in Saul’s toilet, right here in this ordinary and regular event, the gigantic struggle of David with the Sovereignty of God. Imagine that! It is here that God speaks to David in powerful terms. It is of a very sad note that this visit to the bathroom will probably be the last time God speaks to Saul as well. At the very least friends, we should encourage ourselves that God is not barred from speaking in ANY arena of our lives and again, we should also take note, that it is not only the sanctuary that can become a Holy place.
Of course we would agree that God is not confined in His mercy or Self revelation to any building or time slot on a Sunday. This is the truth. It is also the most wonderful fact that we the church are God’s holy building, His awesome dwelling place! Whenever a goodly number of living stones come together it should be with the greatest expectation of mutual ministry! We should meet with God in one another and with Jesus in the middle of it all! We should expect the sparks to fly, the dead to live, the flesh to die! The gathered church should be the most exciting place on the planet. It makes you wonder what’s happened eh?
Like Luther of old, we may find that many of our churches have become destitute, debilitated or dead and subsequently, many of us are suffering from maladies that range from spiritual starvation to spiritual constipation. There’s nothing of any worth going into you and what is of great worth within you, is not being allowed out! We are constipated with rubbish and we are indeed, full of it! There’s a lot that needs to be worked out folks I know, but Luther at least reminds me that it can be done. But how?
Well, Luther’s constipation regularly took him to a not so fragrant place, where inspiration and revelation met and the world was changed forever. Now, I am convinced that in the selfless service of Jesus, we find out who we really are and we discover who He really is. So, how about you? Maybe you should seek a ‘not so fragrant’ place where your gifts and service will be used and where in their use, you will meet with the release of this revelation of who He truly is and who you truly are.
If it’s not working where you are, then you will forgive the metaphor I am sure, in that oftentimes, there is nothing else to do but get up, flush and then move on. Maybe some of you need to do just that?
Listen:- “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!”
Pray: - Living Lord; Speaker of life; God of love. Feed me for I am hungry. Use me in your Kingdom and lead me to a place of service so that, that which You have placed within me may be used to Your glory, in Jesus name I pray, amen.
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