Keeping The Line Open

When I first arrived to live in Central Asia, I had so much to learn about culture, language, and — using the phone!  It was a challenge to conquer.  In those early days, making and completing an international call was reason to celebrate.

On one particular occasion plans had been made for a small team of volunteers to come over and help in one of our projects.  I needed to get some information to them about their travel.  For an entire day I made attempts to get a phone connection.  When at long last I got through I felt exhilarated!  Frustrations melted away into ecstasy, such was my relief and excitement.

In our conversation, they also had a question that required me to get back to them in a few moments time.  “Don’t hang up!” I instructed, “we must keep the line open. We mustn’t let anything hinder our communication.”

When this recollection popped into my memory bank this week, it also made me think about our heavenly communications.  Isn’t it a joy and relief to know that at anytime of the day or night, we, too, can place a heart call to our Heavenly Father?  He is always there to listen and answer.  He never sleeps.  His line is always clear; at least, it’s always clear on His end.  On our end we may have let interference hinder the connection.

What interference?  An unclean heart.  As we go through our daily journey, running our race, hinderances often try to block our path.  Our arch enemy, Satan and his demons, are always on the lookout to toss in a road block, but  with God’s strength, maintained by a clean heart, we can always leap over the hurdle.  If our hearts become weighted down, we trip over and fall.

What does that mean?  I John 1:8-9 answers that question and provides the remedy to being knocked down by a roadblock, to having our communication line to heaven hindered.  “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.  But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The key to an open line of communication is a clean heart.  When we confess daily, we are cleaned up daily.  After all, we take daily baths or showers to clean our physical selves.  Why wouldn’t we do the same in our spiritual world?

There’s great comfort in having a good phone line.  It’s no different with our personal line to heaven.