Cleaning

I cleaned my desk today. It’s really Wayne’s desk–the one he bought as his retirement desk.  That’s a story for another day. The point is the dust was getting thick and the piles disorderly so I got busy and sorted, straightened, threw out and wiped off the dust.  It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  There is one corner I will get to another day.  You know those paper organizers that hold your papers upright in neat little sections. It’s not looking so neat. Thus, it will be another day’s job.

Cleaning the desk reminded me of how I live life.  Sometimes, I let clutter build up in my heart.  Yes, I read my Bible, I pray, and serve God in different ways.  But if I look closely there’s a bit of greed over in the corner of my heart. Yes, there’s even some pride piling up in another corner.  And would you believe? There are specks of deceit right there in the middle of the floor!

As a Christian I must guard my heart against these less-obvious sins. I would never murder, steal, or curse, but it is all too easy to let pride or greed slip in unnoticed. My friends may not see it at first, but if I don’t clear it out it will eventually be noticed.  Of course, God knows what’s there.

The Apostle John writes, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).  So Jesus is ready to clean and purify my heart if I confess and allow Him full access to every corner of my heart.  John writes in the first chapter of 1 John, verse 9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

So just as I have to clean the dust off this desk once in awhile, I also have to ask God to clean out my heart. I need to pray David’s prayer every day. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).  I’m so thankful Christ is the great Forgiver and Purifier.