When my wife and I got married, we purchased our first house. It was a small, quaint house, which the previous owner had left virtually spotless. We were instantly sold. We moved in and, for the first couple of years, we were fairly diligent about keeping things straight and clean in our treasured new home. We would vacuum, clean, and dust.
But, as the years wore on, we got busy with other aspects of our lives and began to neglect some of our domestic duties. Eventually, we found ourselves swamped with work and too tired to clean regularly. Little by little, tables and counter tops became cluttered, the floors looked a little bit more dingy, dust particles settled on the furniture, and the windows were not as bright and shining as before.
We told ourselves that one day we were going to “get to” this mess, but that day never seemed to come. Until, finally there came a day when we finally looked around and said “Enough is enough!” We needed help.
So, we hired a housekeeper that came highly-recommended by a friend. We gave her a key to the house and let her do her thing. After the first visit, the house was transformed! The floors shone again, the dust was gone, and the clutter was neatly organized. Suddenly, the house looked great again!
Then, a strange thing happened. I would find myself picking up stuff and straightening out things between visits. My wife commented that, “You never did this before we had the housekeeper!” I replied that “The housekeeper has done all of the heavy lifting. Now it’s easy.”
We often treat our spiritual lives the same way my wife and I treated our house. We allow “junk” to clutter our lives – petty selfishness, jealousy, anger, greed, even hate. We try to straighten things out by ourselves, but we soon find the task overwhelming.
The good news is that there is a “housekeeper” who comes with a great recommendation and is waiting anxiously to help us. He is the LORD, Jesus Christ and God has vouched for him. He is ready and willing to help. The Bible says that Jesus stands at the door and knocks, waiting for us to let him in (Revelation 3:20). But, don’t just let him in; give him the key to your heart so that he can let himself in and do the work that needs to be done.
And, if you let him in, He will do all of the heavy lifting of getting your “House” in order. And, unlike our earthly housekeeper, the cost is free to you and me. The price has already been paid by Christ dying on the cross for us. All we have to do is believe in and accept the one whom God has sent to help us (John 6:29). So starting today, turn your “Clutter” over to Jesus. Your heavenly housekeeper will do all of the heavy lifting of setting your life in order.
Greg Merideth
