Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we might walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
So, I’m guessing you already sang the rest of the jingle that goes with this title, ”Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!”, and now you’re worried that you might have that tune stuck in your head the rest of the day. If that happens, then at least you know what to do… just grab a glass of water and some Alka-Seltzer and you’ll be feeling better in no time! Of course, taking these might reroute your thinking right back to singing the catchy little ditty that caused your need for the fizzy tablets in the first place. Oh my, it’s a vicious cycle, but so too is the reactive truth of God’s word, which is what led me to think about rocks, and water, and surface tension, and Alka-Seltzer. So, if you can stomach the truth, and allow its frothiness to alleviate what ails you, then read on.
It all started this morning. I was reviewing some memory verses and, as each one brought specific people and or situations to mind, I would allow the verse to become the prayer. As I continued on in this manner, I came upon Ephesians 2:10 and, like it has done so many times before, it hit me like a rock. The part that undoes me is found in the wording “which God prepared beforehand”. The fact that I am God’s workmanship, His masterpiece, is enough to bring about that deer in the headlights look, but then to learn that God has already ordained my steps and established my path moves me beyond wide-eyed to knock—kneed. In fact, if I were a fainting goat, I’d pass out every time I read this passage. How comforting it is to know that I am not the author of my own life; I am an ever growing and developing character, but I am not the one who holds the pen. God does. He is the Playwright and the Director; He determines my entrances and my exits; He has set each act and scene in place and He alone will determine when it’s time for a curtain call. Sure I’ll mess up my lines and miss some timely cues; I’ll even try to ad lib from time to time (because I forgot my lines and think I can wing it on my own), but because He wrote the script, He won’t be fooled and I won’t be indulged. I like that. I find solace in that. I hold on to that as one of God’s unsinkable truths.
Unsinkable…or, perhaps, sinkable. Like a rock. I started to think how often I encounter God’s truths and yet fail to let them sink to the bottom of my heart; to internalize them to the point that my will flows around them rather than over them or under them. I thought how often I treat God’s truths like skipping rocks, allowing them to skim over my surface but never really permitting them to alter who I am or how I think. That’s when I thought about surface tension and things that break that tension; that’s when I visualized the reactive nature of Alka-Seltzer.
When you think about it, the formation of water tension is quite amazing. Due to its molecular structure, water droplets actually hold on to one another. In doing this, they create a type of shield over the surface of water. Because of this shield, water can actually be filled past the edge of a glass and not spill out and paper clips can literally float on the surface of water. However, the clingy nature of water does have its limits; if something is added to the water to break the molecular “connections”, then they will fall apart faster than an ophidiophobic in a reptile house! (If you concluded that an ophidiophobic is a person who has a fear of snakes, then you 
rightly applied the contextual clues. Good job! Of course, I was the one who left the clues, so kudos to me, too!) One way to break water’s cohesiveness is to add liquid soap; another way is to drop in a tablet of Alka-Seltzer. From a visual stand point, I like the use of Alka-Seltzer. All the foaming and fizzing makes the reaction, and dissolution, just plain fun to watch! And, when the effervescence is gone, so too is the surface tension. Now, things that were once suspended upon the water suddenly find themselves plunged to the bottom of its depth.
Considering the affect Alka-Seltzer has upon surface tension, and relating this to our need for God’s truths to sink into our hearts and not just skim across the surface, perhaps what we all need is a spiritual plop, plop, fizz, fizz. We all, if we’re faithful to read God’s word, come face to face with His rocks of truth every time we read from the Bible. It’s not that we don’t know they are there; it’s not that we don’t pick them up; it’s not even that we don’t allow them to stir the waters of our hearts. All these things can take place but if those truths don’t break through the surface tension of our hearts, if they don’t sink like a rock into the depths of our heart, then they are no more a part of us than a skipping stone is a part of the water it crosses.
I want these truths to become my bedrock of faith. I want them to sink deeply into the sands of my soul. I want them to alter the course of my thoughts and my desires. I want them to dam up some areas and reroute my will so that it flows around God’s truths rather than simply flowing under it. I don’t want to live in such a way that I think Biblical truth rests upon me; I want to rest upon…to stand upon…Biblical truth. And so, as I pray Scripturally, I’ll pray for God to break my surface tension; I’ll ask Him to continually place His rocks of truth deep within the waters of my heart until the waters rise and overflow. And, if need be, I’ll submit to the plop, plop, fizz, fizz that obliterates my surface tension and I’ll gladly say, “Oh, what a relief it is!”
Yes, we are all God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…which God prepared beforehand…that we might walk in them…and that’s the truth!
