Purify Your Mind Series (Part 3) by Joe KirbyNäide

The Lady of the Lake

"But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)

My favorite lake in England is also the deepest—it’s called Wast Water. This lake holds a grizzly secret which taints its rugged beauty.

Peter Hogg, a pilot, married a flight attendant named Margaret, nineteen years his junior. The marriage quickly turned sour, and Margaret began a stubborn affair with an American banker, refusing to end the relationship. One night, a fight broke out between the couple, and Peter killed Margaret. Trying to cover his tracks, Peter wrapped his wife’s body in a carpet, drove hundreds of miles north to Wast Water, tied her feet to a concrete block, and dumped her body in the middle of the lake. Nine years later, scuba divers noticed something strange. On further inspection, they were horrified to find a face—perfectly preserved like wax in the icy cold waters.

Peter Hogg was caught because he made two fatal mistakes. First, if he had paddled out just ten yards further, the body would have sunk to the bottom, 260 feet deep, beyond the divers’ normal limit. Instead, Margaret’s body got wedged onto a ridge. Second, Peter forgot to remove Margaret’s wedding ring, which had the inscription, “P.H. M.H. 1963.” Once this piece of evidence was unraveled, it became very clear who this “lady of the lake” was.*

I’m sure you have never committed murder and hidden the body, but we all have secrets we think no one knows about. Peter Hogg is a stark reminder that the Bible does not lie when it says, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Today, you have an opportunity to repent and get out from under your sin, practically unscathed. But if you do not take this window of grace, be warned: your sin may expose your secret to the rest of the world.

* Irving, A. "The lady in the lake" (article), Whitehaven News (Newsquest Media Group Ltd,), March 19, 2009. https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/17151162.the-lady-in-the-lake/