Having recently cleaned out my garage, I have to say that few things leave you with such a feeling of satisfaction. It’s a place you generally see at least twice a day, so having everything neat and organized has a calming effect on personalities like mine. As I sat down to write this entry, I started thinking about the many similarities between cleaning out my garage and cleaning out my heart for Christ. Before rolling your eyes and flipping to the next blog on your list, go with me on this for a few minutes.
I was amazed at how much dust and dirt can build up on the floor of my garage. I have no idea from where it all comes (though admittedly it wasn’t something I took a lot of time to ponder!). I think life can be like that. We confess our sins to Christ and set about living our lives for Him. Over time, small bits of sin creep into our life. We get careless or lazy, and sin finds the cracks to seep through. Over time, this little bit of sin builds up until it has formed a thick coating on our hearts. We may not even recognize how dirty we’ve become at our core, but we know that our lives as a whole no longer look like they should. Without realizing how, we’ve become disorganized and sloppy. We need to take a broom to our hearts and start sweeping away the accumulated sin. Take the time to reflect and examine your heart. Confess the sin you find; come clean to Jesus and He will purify your heart and make you shine for Him once again.
Another thing that is necessary to cleaning out a garage is to throw out all of the things for which you no longer have a use. We all have habits that have been with us longer than we can even remember. If the practice is doing nothing to bring us closer to Christ, we need to throw it out. We may think we need it, but as soon as we cast it aside, we recognize how much lighter and cleaner things look. We no longer are burdened with storing unnecessary baggage. The less clutter we have in our hearts, the more room we have for Christ. We can’t have a heart devoted to Jesus if it is full of other desires, thoughts and habits. We need to take time to throw out any negative thoughts, hurtful opinions, anger, resentment and any other sinful tendencies. Having cleared out all that space, God can permeate every nook and cranny of our hearts.
When was the last time you took the time to give a good old-fashioned spring cleaning to your heart? We need to regularly take the time to pray and examine exactly what’s going on inside. It’s far too easy to allow the smallest of sins to creep in undetected, and before we know it, we are firmly off course. We must be diligent to sweep away any sludge that begins to permeate our soul. We have been cleansed by Jesus, and it is both our honor and duty to keep things immaculate within. Take stock of your habits and attitudes; is the life you are living a clear and brilliant reflection of Christ? Take the appropriate action to correct any wrong thought processes and behaviors. Why not start today? Clear the clutter and the noise from your heart, everything that has taken up residence within you that does not clearly reflect the image of Christ. Clean it up, throw it away and show the world the glory of God; shine clean and bright for Him.