What mushrooms teach us about sin

Ever spotted a mushroom in your yard that wasn't there yesterday? Where did that come from!? Wow they grow fast.

Actually, that fungus has been there a while, it just wasn't evident or visible to you. Some time back a spore had germinated in your yard. The fungus grew and spread, feeding on the dead grass thatch at soil level. Millions of thread-like microscopic cells, called hyphae, formed a network there.

When conditions were just right, the network of hyphae consolidated and formed the mushroom you saw. This is the fruiting body, which produces spores that start the cycle all over again.

Ever had a blow-up with your wife or kids -- whom you pray for daily? Maybe it's some other sin you thought was long gone -- rage, theft, lust, greed, perversion. The lesson of the mushroom is that the basis of that sin is still with you. It simply required the right conditions to explode into visible form.

"The heart is deceitful above all else -- who can fathom it?" wrote Jeremiah. "I know that nothing good live in me," wrote Paul (Rom 7:18). The answer is godly mourning for our sins (Matthew 5:4).

Common hindrances to godly mourning include

* Cherished sin. There are some sins you still enjoy.
* Despair. Putting yourself outside of God’s grace, believing He can’t help.
* Conceit. Believing there is nothing to mourn.
* Presumption. Being satisfied with only a little forgiveness for the small amount of sin you have. This is like treating cancer like a cold that will go away in 48 hours.
* Procrastination. “I’ll get to it when it’s more convenient.”

Here are some suggestions to help

1. Study sin in Scripture to gain an accurate understanding of it. Sin is evil and repulsive to God, and destructive and damning to us. Sin grieves God, resists grace, makes us weak and impure.
2. Confess sin and repent -- don’t just admit it.
3. Check your sense of God’s forgiveness. Are you experiencing release and freedom from knowing your sins are forgiven? Do you have His peace and joy? Do you experience the divine comfort He promises to those who have forgiven, cleansed, and purified lives?

Maybe you need to get this praise song "stuck" in your mind today:

Purify my heart
Touch me with your cleansing fire
Take me to the cross
Your holiness is my desire
Breathe your life in me
Kindle the love that flows from your throne
O purify my heart!
Purify my heart