The day had arrived and the time had come. No excuses for putting it off and no schedule conflicts that might grant a reprieve. It was time to clean the house! And when I say “clean the house” I mean the type of cleaning that you only do once every six months or so (at least around here).
Furniture was moved. Lampshades were dusted. Nooks and crannies were dutifully sought out and vacuumed with the help of that little wand attachment that normally doesn’t see much use (you know the one). The bathrooms and kitchens were scrubbed especially well, on hands and knees and by brute force when necessary. And boy, was it necessary!
Why was it so necessary? Why was the house so in need of a heavy duty cleaning? It’s not like my wife and I actively avoid cleaning when it is needed. No, the answer is simply that we hadn’t stopped to do it. Our schedule is normally full and we spend a lot of time going and coming, or preparing to go and come. Over time, with all of our comings and goings, dust and dirt had been tracked in from outside and it was time to stop and clean the place up.
I’m going to use our house cleaning as an example and an analogy so I hope what I am about to say makes sense. Allow me to ask a somewhat rhetorical question that may sound silly at first: Could we have avoided a lot of the dust and dirt if we had just stayed home? Of course we could. That much should be obvious. But it should also be obvious (hence the silliness of the question) why staying at home is not a realistic option.
At the bare minimum our household needs funds to continue to function. That means we have to go to work to earn those funds. Both my wife and I work so we are both coming and going to work at least five days out of the week (and often a sixth day for me). We also need food to survive and supplies for the running of the household so that means trips to the grocery store, the hardware store, etc.
We also choose to go some places just because we want to and because it is good for us. Church services, social functions with family and friends, date nights, road trips, vacations and many more. These are all good things and I wouldn’t avoid them just to keep my house, car or person from getting dirty. (That also may sound like a silly statement but please indulge me a little bit more).
The point I am making with this is that staying home really isn’t an option and because it isn’t an option taking time to stop and clean up is sometimes necessary. I think we can all agree with that.
Spiritually speaking (here’s the analogy), staying home isn’t an option for us either and neither is refusing to stop and clean up!
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (Luke 14:23) KJV
The Lord God who is our Father and Creator has commanded us to go out and find the lost and the needy and to compel (reason with/ plead with) them to come to Him. His house is eternal and He is preparing the finest mansions that have ever been created for those who would come and join His family. And we are His messengers. We are to carry His message of peace and love and redemption through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
As we go to our jobs, our schools, our social engagements and wherever we might be going, we are to carry His message. That much is clear. What is also clear is that those highways and hedges and back alleys of the world are dusty, dirty places, both physically and spiritually. As we go we will encounter ideas and people that are not godly and not spiritually healthy. Because we are imperfect some of those people and ideas are going to influence us in a negative way. Things we see and things we hear have a tendency to stick around and sometimes, despite our best efforts to the contrary, we may find ourselves imitating them.
We develop attitudes that are not godly and ideas that do not originate from the Holy Spirit and if we don’t take the time to stop and “clean up” by confessing our sin and spending time in prayer and meditation over God’s Word then we will quickly find ourselves in trouble. (analogy complete – I hope it made sense!)
When we come before God honestly confessing our weaknesses and sins He cleans us on the inside, changing our hearts and attitudes for the good. He causes us to be a little bit more like Him and to think and act more like our Heavenly Father. Praise God for His faithfulness, mercy and love that never fails!
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1) NASB
Have you stopped to speak with the One who is advocating (working on your behalf) for you today? Maybe it’s time to bow our heads and get on our knees and ask Jesus to clean us and make us more like Him. Only then can we faithfully perform our work as messengers of the gospel of peace.