Without Blemish in the Sewers of London.

Colossians 3:23 NRSV:  "Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters..."
Colossians 3:17 NRSV:  "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."
1 Corinthians 10:31 NRSV:  "...whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God."



If you open your Bible to the book of Leviticus or Numbers you will discover that the phrase "without blemish' crops up time and time again - dozens upon dozens of times.  The usual context is relating to sacrifices for sin.  Just as old Israel had to kill a perfect animal to make their sin good, so Jesus - the perfect man/God took the blood offering upon Himself to remedy the death-consequences of our sin.

Now that we can be free of the guilt and shame of sin, and indeed now that we can leave behind the sins we would once have chosen, the phrase 'without blemish' takes on a new meaning for us Christians.  Our lives are given as a grateful sacrifice not to earn God's grace, but because God's grace has already been given to us, even when we were ugly in our sin. 


We want our lives to be 'without blemish' so that they please God, and honor Him.  God deserves our best - our excellence. The above New Testament verses remind me that our work should be excellent too - for no better reason than it honors God.

Back in Victorian England, humble bricklayers built the complex London sewer system.  Even though nobody but rats and the odd sewer-worker would ever see their handiwork, they laid complex and beautiful arches and tunnels adding decorative touches to structures that would serve for hundreds of years to come. We don't know their names, but their craft and their art stands as a testiment to their character. They did beautiful work when nobody but God was watching - or would ever likely see it.