HIDDEN DIRT
Wow! It has been too long since I have posted a blog. My family has been in the process of moving to another home over the past few months. If you have ever moved you know how overwhelming that can be. We have been collecting boxes, wrapping things in bubble wrap, moving furniture, and filling dumpsters. One of the amazing things is the amount of “stuff” that one collects over time. We had to sort through and make decisions about numerous items that we no longer used or found of any value. The funny thing is that at one time those items were very exciting and new. It may have been a new toy, a new piece of furniture, or new clothes that we just had to have. The new items were exciting at the time because they were going to make life so much more enjoyable, more comfortable, or easier. Over time, however, these new items were set to the side and never used again.
As we began to clean out our house room by room, moving those once valuable items, something very disturbing began to appear, dirt. Those items were covering up a lot of accumulated dirt. I now understand what dust bunnies are! In fact I believe we may have uncovered a dust pony or two.
This got me thinking of life. Recall what the Lord said in the first two of the 10 Commandments found in Exodus 20: 3-4, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” While we like to think we take the 10 Commandments seriously and obey them all, do we really give them much thought? How many things are really in your life that you are putting before the Lord? Have you ever stopped to think about that? Perhaps it is job, or a sport or hobby, maybe it is even a new boyfriend or girlfriend. These things are not bad in and of themselves but when we use these things in an attempt to bring about inner peace and happiness, they will start to take our eyes off of the Lord. These things become the very false gods and idols that the Lord warns us about.
When the Christian begins to seek peace and happiness in the things of the world, instead of in Christ, we begin to get dirty. Since we can find no peace and contentment in the “new things” of the world we begin to set them aside and turn to another “new thing.” Before we know it our hearts and minds are full of those “things” that we thought would bring satisfaction, yet they have not. When we begin to realize that we need to walk in restored fellowship with Jesus we start to rid ourselves of those things that have taken the Lord’s place in our lives. When this clean-out process starts what do we find? We find that those things have been hiding a lot of accumulated dirt. This dirt is actually sin. Sin can, and will, accumulate in the believer’s life if we are not careful and cause us to start to replace Jesus with other things. That is why John told us in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I would encourage you today to stop and prayerfully examine your life for those things that are taking Jesus’ place in your heart. I would guess that those things are causing sin to accumulate. Move those idols out of the way and ask the Lord to clean out the “sin bunnies” that have accumulated in your life. Remember, true contentment can only be found in Him.
Pastor Tom