A Clean House

How do you approach cleaning?

• I enjoy refreshment and a sense of accomplishment from it.
• I tolerate it as an unwelcome necessity of life.
• I loathe it and will make about any excuse to avoid it.

I cleaned today. Not because I expect company or because I had nothing better to do, but because the weekend is nearly here, which means several of us will be home for extended hours. To me, a clean house is a comfortable home. You might rationalize that if several of us will be home, it's better to wait until everyone returns to school and work, since the house will get more dirty with everyone in it. The same reasoning applies when making your bed in the morning when you'll get into it again at the end of the day.

As I was cleaning today, I realized...it's not the act of cleaning that thrills me. I only enjoy the process of cleaning because I anticipate the end result: a comfortable house in which I can relax because the dust bunnies aren't peering at me from under furniture. I'm refreshed in a house full of clean smells.

It's the same with spiritual growth. I'm not thrilled with the process. It's messy, inconvenient, and sometimes painful. But the result is a maturing relationship with Jesus. I won't enjoy the comfort of a close relationship without letting him cleanse my life. He gets rid of the accumulating dust bunnies. He sanitizes the toxic surfaces. He washes away the filth to refresh me.

Look around your house. What needs to be done to clean your house?

Cleaning will take time and effort.

Look at your heart. What needs to be done to clean it?

Cleaning will take time and effort. But Jesus will take care of it...if you'll let him.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.Renew a loyal spirit within me. - Psalm 51:10 (NLT)