BP55
The country known today as the Netherlands has always been at war.
This war is not against human foes, but against liquid enemies: the salty waters of the stormy North Sea and the flood waters of three rivers that open their mouths at the sea and then weave their way through the Dutch countryside. This perpetual war is not surprising at all when one considers that at least a fourth of the country sits below sea level.
Over the centuries, the inhabitants of this low-lying land have attempted to bar the threatening waters from inundating their farmland and pastures by building a variety of dikes. The smaller ones were only 27” high! These flimsy barriers against the encroaching waters have failed miserably under severe conditions.
St. Lucia’s Flood was particularly devastating to the country of the Dutch. On December 14, 1287, the dikes that had been constructed to ward off the North Sea failed. The subsequent and massive flooding—St. Lucia’s was counted among the top ten floods in the history of the world–killed as many as 80,000 people! The South Sea (Zuiderzee), a massive salty bay, was formed by the sea water that inundated the countryside.
In the wake of St. Lucia’s Flood and others like it, the inhabitants of the country that was always threatened by water invasion worked harder and smarter to build more effective dikes. They raised the height of the dikes, widened their girth, and used better materials that could not be devoured by sea worms or eroded as easily by crashing waves.
The storm of 1916 prompted the Dutch to launch a major building project. This project included a new nineteen-mile-long dike that transformed the salty Zuiderzee into a freshwater lake. The land that had been covered by the deadly waters for centuries was finally set free for life.
Almost fifty years later, a whole new administrative approach to the dike system in the Netherlands birthed the North Sea Protection Works which entailed the construction of a dam and other barriers designed to shut out the sea. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, this massive engineering project is now deemed one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World . . .
The analogy may be crude, but in the flooding of the Netherlands and the subsequent building of dikes to restrain the destructive waters, I see a rough parallel with the Fall in the Garden.
All was well in Eden until the darkness of sin and rebellion against God flooded the beautiful garden and ruined humanity.
This Fall of the first man and woman resulted in: the total collapse of the intimate bridge between God and His image bearers; the flooding of the human heart with ugly sin; the degradation of the perfect human brain by the formation of a lower and darker primitive brain that hungered for the foul fruits of the flesh; the inundation of innocence and transparency beneath the drowning crud of shame and hiding; an invitation to the kingdom of darkness to supplant the kingdom of light in the human soul.
It is not a perfect analogy, but just as the cataclysm known as St. Lucia’s flood disfigured and flooded much of the farmland in the Dutch countryside, killing tens of thousands of people in its path, so the Fall of humanity into sin disfigured the creatures created in the image of God and covered them all with the putrid pitch of sin and death—inside and out.
In a moment, the beautiful terrain of the human heart was buried beneath the floodwaters of sin. Humanity drowned under the bitter slime that brought deformation and death. After this terrible Fall, the human mind could no longer discern right from wrong and had no ability to obey the God who was its Creator. The natural bent of the heart fell away from loving God and His commands and degraded into a disposition of rebellion and disobedience.
But just as the inhabitants of the land along the North Sea fought back to reclaim their sand and soil from the deadly waters, so God fought back to reclaim the eternal human heart: He devised a huge reclamation project.
He sent His only Son to give His life for the rebellious image bearers who had invited the dark waters into their land. Jesus pumped out their sins and filled the cleansed land of the human heart with His righteousness. He also built a dike around them that no saline sea or engorged river could ever topple. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, from this time forth and forevermore ~ Psalm 125:2
Through a single act of justification, Jesus delivered us from the kingdom of sin and death and transferred us into the kingdom of life and light.
For those of us who have asked God to remove the flooding sin from our hearts and to give us instead the imputed righteousness of Jesus, the land of our hearts is saved forever. Our name is written in the Book of Life. We are already seated in the heavenly places. No storm from hell can ever penetrate our righteous status and reclaim our hearts with flooding darkness since our holy status is not based on our performance but on what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
Here we encounter the beautiful salvation that is by grace alone apart from any human effort.
Everyone who has obtained the forever fruits of justification–a cleansed heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith stronger than any dike in the world—now is called by the Holy Spirit to commence the journey of sanctification. Although our hearts are already surrounded by God’s impenetrable dike of salvation, He calls us to reclaim more and more of our souls that still lie beneath the murky waters of sin.
In effect, God calls us to build spiritual dikes. He commands us to construct dikes farther out in the sea of our hearts and then pump out the sinful habits that, like deadly waters, have drowned any hope of obedience to Jesus in those parcels of our heart-land. As we pump out the smothering sin, we reclaim more and more of our hearts that since the day of our birth have been owned by the dark prince of this world.
So, the task of heart reclamation is two-fold: justification and sanctification, the initial salvation of your heart and the subsequent reclamation of its total territory by building dikes and pumping out sin. Even though we are already eternally saved, a war still wages within us between light and darkness.
Romans 7:22-25 addresses this war: For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Because God has saved us by the death and resurrection of His Son, we now delight in obeying God. However, thousands of acres of real estate in our hearts are still committed to the ways of the flesh. You might refer to them as neural pathways or spiritual valleys of disobedience.
Now that we have been justified by faith through Jesus Christ, we fight daily to build spiritual dikes, to pump out the practices of darkness that previously were as natural to us as breathing, and to fill the newly cleansed land of our hearts with Jesus’ character.
The question then arises, How does a person build dikes, then pump out the crushing weight of the sin that so easily entangles, and finally, fill the vacated territory with crops of the Spirit instead of the deadly weeds of the flesh?
Designer Therapy for Life believes that it is essential to consider what actions must be taken in the psycho-spiritual-relational realm to construct dikes, fire up the pumps, and replant the meadows of the heart that have been delivered from sin.
First, how might you build a dike farther out in the spiritual North Sea? Let’s look at a few Bible passages that might help us answer this project.
Put to death therefore [build a boundary dike and pump out the sin] what is earthly [covered with the flood of the flesh]: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry ~ Colossians 3:5
Several verses later we read, But now you must put them all away (pump out the sin): anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator ~ vv. 8-10
Beginning at verse 12 in the same chapter, we read, Put on, then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love . . . And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . . And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly . . . with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
So, according to Colossians, how do we build a dike further out in the sea of sin and reclaim our hearts for Jesus? Putting on Jesus’ character, ingesting God’s word, and being thankful seem like important practices. But let us also look at the beginning of chapter three (vv. 1-4) for help to answer this question.
If then, you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Building dikes farther out in the North Sea does not begin with pumping out sin but with seeking the things above and setting our minds on them. The dikes are not first and foremost about removing sinful behaviors but about a positive becoming as we focus on heavenly things.
Yes, dikes are boundaries that push the sea of sin out of the countryside of our hearts. But even more importantly, dikes are about positive practices, namely, seeking the things that are above where Christ is, and setting our minds on the things that are above instead of things on earth. And as we behold the things above (ultimately the person of Jesus), we will be changed from one degree of glory to another as 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us. If we look at Jesus, our desires and behaviors will be transformed.
Spiritual dikes are about becoming more like Jesus. As we seek Him (run the race looking to Jesus—Hebrews 12:1ff) and not the things below, we will naturally develop a hunger for holiness. We will pump out the sin that covers large portions of our hearts because we desire His character within us and so will practice His presence.
Yes, our affections will determine what we look at and what we look at will determine the strength of our affections. (It does appear that discipline has a lot to do with it.) We read something similar in Philippians 3:17ff.
Brothers [and sisters], join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body . . .
Looking at Colossians and Philippians together, it is clear that the practice of building dikes in our souls is accomplished by: setting our minds on Jesus; looking at Jesus with our spiritual eyes; walking with Jesus since we are not enemies of the cross. We are new creations because we have died with Christ and have also been raised with Him. We are citizens of heaven looking upward as we await His return.
Looking heavenward at Jesus does not mean we are ignoring this world. We are still in this world, even though we are not of it. We are called to love those around us and make disciples of all nations.
Related to Colossians and Philippians is Romans 8:5ff. Here the word of God says that there are two types of people (much like Philippians that refers to those who set their minds on earthly things and those whose citizenship is in heaven): those who live according to the flesh and set their minds on the things of the flesh; and those who live according to the Spirit and set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Once Jesus saves our hearts from the smothering waters of sin and death, He calls us to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. This admonition sounds a lot like Colossians and Philippians where we are commanded not to set our minds on earthly things but on the things that are above.
So, now that your heart-land has been saved by Jesus, build the dikes. Then pump out the sin that still tarnishes the image of God in you not through white knuckling abstinence but by practicing the habit of setting your minds on Jesus. Just as in psychology where we say that it is difficult to be anxious if you have learned how to be relaxed, so it is difficult to sin when your mind and heart and eyes are all fixed on Jesus.
Speaking of psychology, often in therapy with my clients I will refer to the practice of building dikes. Why is that important in counseling? In my eyes, the journey of therapy is equivalent to sanctification for those who believe in Jesus. It is all about reclaiming parts of the self that still groan beneath the crushing weight of the Fall. Growth is a journey of pushing back everything that clings to a person including unhealthy family legacies, psychological dysfunction, twisted coping skills, habits like hiding, blaming, bitterness and unforgiveness.
Even with my unbelieving clients, I will urge them to build dikes and push out the darkness that covers their hearts. Of course, without the Savior of their souls, the Awesome Dike Builder, their paltry dikes will not rise about 27″ in height. However, it is a beginning, sometimes significant. How often do we have to remove the rubble that has buried us beneath sin and dysfunction before we can even hear the voice of the Holy Spirit summoning us to hear the Good News? How many of you who love Jesus needed years of preparation before your heart was willing to submit to the Lord of your life?
In summary, building dikes is setting your eyes on Jesus—the things that are above–and then daily or hourly practicing holy behaviors by intentionally putting on the new self and taking off the old self as Colossians 3 tells us.
As you walk forward on your spiritual journey, know that when you do sin, a breech occurs in your spiritual dike and the dark waters of sin rush into your heart along with shame, self-condemnation, and maybe even blame.
But if you confess your sins (I John 1:9), Jesus will be faithful to pump out the sin and to cleanse the terrain of your heart so it will be in His eyes as if you had never sinned.
There will be consequences, of course, both inside and outside, such as reopening the neural pathway to that sin or training your mind to seek the things on earth instead of the things above. Obviously, it is better to say no to sin in the first place than to open the dike of your heart to darkness, to Satan’s accusations, and to the flesh dog that only gets bigger as you feed it (see Galatians 5:16-23)
Enlarge the territory of your heart by setting your minds on things above. As you practice looking at Jesus while you run the race of life, you will build more dikes of righteousness, pump out sin, and plant spiritual trees inside your heart. These trees of righteousness will produce fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Just as the people along the North Sea reclaimed the land from the deathly waters by constructing protective dikes, dams, sluices, locks, levees, and storm surge barriers, do the same spiritually. Just do not wait for the storm to strike or for the floods to come before you act. Be proactive and build your defenses before the deluges of life come.
Once God has justified us and surrounded us with His protection, we are called to the lifelong journey of personal sanctification, but also to evangelism.
Many do not accept God’s salvation that delivers men and women from the inundating waters of sin and death. They remain spiritually dead and blindly believe that suffocating underwater is normal—that there is nothing else to life than the material world.
Those of us who obey God gladly receive His deliverance from the crushing weight of sin and unrighteousness. Then, day by day increasingly filled with His character, we love those around us and gently, kindly tell them about the One who came to save those who are drowning in darkness and death.
If we have been resuscitated by the heavenly Lifeguard and redeemed by the Dike Builder and restored by the Bringer of Holiness and renovated by the Planter of spiritual fruit trees in our hearts, how can we not share the good news of Jesus with those who are drifting lifelessly beneath the cruel and lonely waters of the sea?
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God . . . your Savior. . . You are precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you . . . Fear not, for I am with you ~ Isaiah 43:2ff
It will be a day for building your walls. On that day, will your boundary be extended ~ Micah 7:11
