I love when the air begins to warm, and the colors of spring push out the grays and whites of winter. I am not a lover of snow or cold, so my soul gets a little lighter each time spring rolls around. It’s a time to open windows and take long walks outside again. With the arrival of Spring, many of our thoughts turn to the proverbial “spring cleaning”.
We dust and sweep the corners of our living areas and declutter the storage spaces. Spring is a time of fresh beginnings, and we want everything to be sparkling and new again. If we undertake such chores for our home on an annual basis, why do we not do the same for our eternal souls?
Over a year, we add many new habits into our lives. We make new friends and associates. Perhaps most of all, we work harder and longer hours in our jobs. It seems we are always adding more things and more stuff into our lives, while never taking the time to let go of what was already there. Jesus tells us His yoke is easy, His burden light (Matthew 11:29-30). If we are experiencing life as anything but easy and light, the problem is not with Jesus; it’s with us.
I know we have brothers and sisters who live in countries without religious freedom, and every day is hard for them. Please join me in making certain we never neglect to lift them in prayer. But I am talking to those of us who live in freedom. We have no excuse to live lives that are heavy and burdened. Those are things we add by choice, and they are not of our Father (I John 2:15-16). I suggest we do a spring cleaning of our soul and root out all that does not belong.
What have you allowed to clutter your heart? Most of us have good intentions when we add things onto our plates. We don’t do things that would intentionally distance us from God. And yet, over time, the little things add up until we have once again relegated Jesus to the margin of our life. God cannot live in the margins. He is an all-consuming fire who is uncontainable. The margins are too small. If we push Him there, we misunderstand who He is, and we will never experience His power in our lives.
Does your soul need a spring cleaning? Is your relationship with God where you want it to be? What have you added that you need to release? Are there things you’ve been hanging onto for too long? The only thing that matters is Jesus. Everything else is a distraction. We need to strip everything away until all we know is Jesus. All this other “stuff” gets in the way of our relationship with our Creator and Lord.
It’s time for a spring cleaning of the most important kind. The corners of our hearts need ready access to the light of Christ. Nothing can hide; we must place everything at His feet. Don’t let your heart and life get cluttered with the things of this world. It’s all temporary, anyway. Focus only on eternal things. Throw out everything that doesn’t reflect the beauty and love of our amazing Jesus. Do a spring cleaning of your own heart. Jesus is waiting for you to find Him all over again.