Clean House

"'For as he thinks within himself, so he is.' (Proverbs 23:7) When we are charged to think of ourselves dead to sin, it is more than a suggestion to think positively about our conversion. It is an invitation to step into the momentum of a reality made available only through the cross. The supernatural power released in this way of thinking is what creates a lifestyle of freedom. It is able to do this because it is the truth. To say that I have sinned is true. To say I am free of sin is truer still. The renewed mind is necessary to more consistently taste the supernatural life, which God intended to be the normal Christian life...The original target in the creation of man was for us to live and dwell in His glory. 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' (Romans 3:23) The cross removes the obstacle to His purposes, and restores us to His original intent. The religious heart is unwilling to recognize that we really have been made in His image, and that being born again restores us to a place of absolute purity...When God's royalty touches our lives, we discover we are designed to live in God's glory. We no longer live in the bondages of our past- performance and comparison in our daily lives, but we know our worth in simply loving Him." (Johnson)

Last week I had a conversation with a student who grew up in the church. She told me that she admires the drastic change in my life once I had received Christ. She told me that because she grew up always believing, but still sinning, sin & belief go hand and hand in her life. She isn't sure she'll ever feel so convicted about sin. She isn't sure she'll ever live such a "holy life" as I lead (ha!).

This morning I read the passage above and was reminded of my conversation with the student. I was especially struck by the bit where he says, "being born again restores us to a place of absolute purity." This concept made me think of when I clean my house. I don't clean my house often enough, but when I do, I try to be meticulous about it. Therefore, when Daniel comes home, I let him know, in no uncertain terms, that I have cleaned and could he please do his best to not make any crumbs or track in any dirt? When I see crumbs and dirt arise on my newly cleaned kitchen counters and floors, I become- irrationally- annoyed.

What if we, who have been restored to a place of absolute purity, cared as much about keeping our vessels clean and pure? What if we believed that we really are clean and pure, and thus worth maintaining that level of purity?

But wait, I am reminded again of my conversation with the student. As she was admiring my "holy life," I was thinking to myself how little she knows me. How I am actually quite unholy and irreverent. How I actually have little care for being a clean vessel for God. I only have an outward appearance of purity. And yet, that is even more like my house. I don't actually care if my house is clean, I just care that it has the appearance of being clean. I don't dust or vacuum under furniture. I don't use the correct anti-bacterial cleaning products in the right spots. I remove only the visible dirt and give the house an appearance of being clean.

Isn't that what I've been doing in my spiritual life as well? Giving myself an appearance of being clean? And yet, this passage is saying that I AM clean. I just need to walk in that truth.

There are no conclusions in this post, just thoughts.