“It’s loose!”
Depending on what is happening at the moment, those could be very good words.
If you are working on the plumbing in your house and trying to replace a fixture, those words mean success. After years of not being disturbed, plumbing joints and fixtures can freeze up. Care must be taken loosening a plumbing fixture otherwise you risk flooding a room of your house. I also know what happens when the pipe wrench hits the bottom of that porcelain seat in the bathroom.
For a child anticipating the first visit of the tooth fairy, those words bring hope. The baby tooth has worked its way loose and once extracted from the mouth can produce financial rewards if placed under a pillow. In listening to children talk about this, I am glad to report that the tooth fairy has adjusted her reward for inflation. Back in the day, a tooth brought a quarter at the most. I have learned the tooth fairy deals with paper currency now.
Having something loose can be bad news too. If the whatchamacallit has come loose from the thingamabob and a service call is required to rejoin these two objects, those words are never good to hear.
If the lion, tiger, or bear has managed to escape the confines of the cage and is roaming the zoo, that is not good news. You would not want to be at the zoo the day one of those animals got loose.
“It’s loose!”
I heard those words one Sunday. I had backed the boat down the ramp into the water. I need to determine if boating on a Sunday is some violation of ministerial decorum. I figured if I finally learned to back the boat, I could use the boat, even on Sunday.
I had removed all the clips, clamps, and knots that keep the boat affixed to the trailer when I am driving. I had backed into the water and was almost proud of my precision. I did note that I had backed a bit too far into the water. I pulled forward a tad.
Funny thing about a pontoon boat, it doesn’t take much water to float it. Not much at all, really. In pulling the trailer forward just a smidge, I freed the boat. It’s loose was a reference to my boat floating away. It was good news and bad news all in the same sentence.
The boat was loose and floating away. The good news was that it had only floated off of the trailer; it had not floated away from the trailer. I did discover that when your investment is floating away, you become agile again. I saved the boat. The bad news was me swimming to wrangle a loose boat.
My kids were also owners of the boat and after hearing about the boat getting loose, upped the insurance on me and the boat.
The Apostle Paul described himself as the chief of sinners. With all the dumb things I do, I want to say to Paul, move over buddy I have you beat. I remind myself of the verse that says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”
Confession begins the process by which Jesus forgives us and heals us from the hurt that sin causes. When you confess your sins, you start something good for your life. You allow Jesus into your life and he can free you from the noose of sin. Through the grace of Jesus, you can say about your soul:
“It’s loose!”
