We are just like houses. Our house is filthy, with mess coming from our closets, the toilets are not flushed, and the floors are littered with garbage. We continue to invite more mess into our house. Jesus loves us so much that He waits outside our house to be invited in. Jesus is not forcing his way in our house nor is He yelling from the street for us to let Him in. He is patiently waiting with a smile on His face. He watches other people go in and out of the house. He watches the house go through storms and catastrophe but yet, He is silently waiting on the sidewalk to be invited in. We crack the door open just enough for Him to hear our request to deliver us from this or that or to help us through a situation or two. But once we get through them, we close the door to our houses, and Jesus continues to wait.
I have been told from devoted church going people that they cannot totally give themselves to Christ because they must clean up first. And the funny thing is, non church going people say the same thing. I believe we are in a proof filled world now. Everyone wants proof God exists. We want proof that sinning is wrong. I believe literally we are looking for fire and brimstone to spray from the heavens, convincing us He is real. Yet, we see time and time again during a tragedy or a very difficult time we all pray, ask favors, make promises to give ourselves to Him. Why can’t we just let Christ into our house? Do we always need neon signs blinking telling us not to go this way or that way?
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Too often we are faced with the question of doing things the right way versus doing things the wrong way. In this world we live in we are all given a false sense of always having a gray area in our everyday thoughts and actions. We tend to praise God for our blessings and then break all the commandments He put in place.
It is a hard thing to confess our wrongs and then strive toward right because as much as I hate to admit it, wrong things at times are more fun. Yes, I must say that the evil elf on my shoulder has won a time or two. That is why we invite God into our homes daily to fight the temptation of doing the wrong things. Admittedly it is not fun to see the truth about ourselves and how truly jacked up our situations are. It is easier to avoid it all with the many distractions out there.
Fortunately, Jesus is equipped with a mop, broom, vacuum, and Lysol to clean and disinfect our filthy houses. He allows us to show Him our mess and then He gently scrubs all the mess away. And He appreciates us being truthful to Him about our struggle in resisting our sinful natures. But we all agree that we enjoy a clean house compared to a dirty one?
Finally, I challenge all of us to today to allow Christ to come into our dirty, nasty houses and watch Him work. Watch Him enter each dirty room and transform it into a place so clean that you no longer remember what it used to be like living with the dust and grime of built up guilt and hurt. He is right there standing by patiently waiting to be invited inside. No pressure, no yelling or screaming, and no huffing and puffing. Just waiting, silently and patiently waiting for you to show your mess to Him while He lovingly cleans you up from the inside out.
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelations 3:20
Getting clean is not easy, but just like our physical bodies thrive when we feed it healthy foods, our spiritual bodies thrive when we pursue a healthy relationship with Christ. Come on, you got this!
Sincerely,
Terryn
MODERN FAITHERELLA 