Clean Out the Clutter
Read: Matthew 23:27-28; Philippians 2:5-11
 Fall arrived last week. Some of us who missed the “spring cleaning” season may be inspired to clean files, closets, cupboards and storage areas during the autumn months.
Do you dust the desk or piano, arrange an eye-catching arrangement or piece of art, maybe even vacuum or mop the floor, and yet leave closets filled with skeletons? I’d believe anything about what may be found in closets, especially after I cleaned out our front closet: clothes that haven’t been worn in years, a tennis racket without strong, old Christmas decorations, a tuba that no one mastered playing, and an overabundance of coats. Maybe your closet is clean, but what about your files? Or the storage areas at church?
Cleaning a closet can be sort of fun once you get started. Doesn’t it make you feel good inside and make you wonder if the closet feels the same way? Doing a project I have been neglecting a long time gives me a sense of satisfaction. There’s another plus when the project’s a closet—you can be alone. A closet is a nice place to sort out your thoughts. At least it worked that way for me when I cleaned out the front closet the other day.
I went over a list of burdens I’d been shelving, most of which I didn’t need and some I’d forgotten I had—sort of like a dead person’s bones. In the corner of the closet, as well as in the corner of my mind, I found little cobwebs. They made me realize I needed to dust off my thoughts so they are pure in God’s sight. As I cleaned and sorted out the closet of my mind, I gave the clutter to God. And God took it—what a wonderful feeling!
Do you find yourself letting things “just hang on” that perhaps should be given to God? Dig into your heart and mind. Be honest with yourself, and give God the clutter.
Prayer: Loving God, you provide object lessons to teach us valuable truths. Thank you for the lesson from the closet. Remind me that even as my living quarters or office space need cleaning from time to time, so does my mind. Sweep out the cobwebs, lift my burdens, and deal with the clutter, I pray. May I have the mind of Christ, in whose name I pray. Amen.
Connie Bailey
Laywoman
Bethel Baptist Church
Casper, WY |
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