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Good Spring Cleaning |
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| Bubba
Garner |
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The trees are starting to bud. Little
green blades of grass are peaking out where the lawn had gone
dormant for the winter. People are beginning to notice pollen
and mold spores and other allergens floating toward their nasal
passages. These are all signs of spring. Soon, even our clocks
will “spring forward.” And that means it time for a good
spring cleaning.
When I was growing up, I soon learned the difference between
spring cleaning and just a normal Saturday cleaning. The
curtains and drapes would come down for washing. The eaves on
the outside of the house would be swept for cobwebs and dirt
daubers’ nests. Toys and clothes that were no longer used or
seldom worn were piled up and hauled off. It was just a sign of
spring.
Perhaps it’s time that all of us to engage in a little
spiritual spring cleaning, the kind that removes the buildup and
clutter. While the world around us awakens from winter, we, too,
can spring back to life. It is not just a sign of the season,
but of seasoning, growing, and maturing.
As you gather your supplies, may I offer four quick cleaning
tips?
Remember that you are renting. The reason we must keep our
body, our earthly house, in good shape is because we are
borrowing it from the Owner. “Or do you not know that your
body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have
from God, and that you are not your own” (1 Cor. 6:19)? Nobody
has the right to say, “it’s my body, I can do whatever I
want to with it.” You belong to God. Everything you have is
from Him. That means you’re going to have to give it all back.
So, “glorify God in you body” (1 Cor. 6:20). The best way to
do that is by keeping it clean.
Start at home, not your neighbor’s. Spring cleaning
sometimes doesn’t go very deep because we start noticing what
bad shape everyone else is in. We’ll think, “I have weeds in
my flowerbeds, but they’re not as high as his.” Or, “my
shelves are dusty, but look at the cobwebs in her closet.”
Jesus said that you don’t have the right to criticize other
peoples’ imperfections when you have not even addressed your
own. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s
eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye” (Matt.
7:3)? Stay focused on your own messes. If you’re like me, that
ought to be enough to keep you busy.
Throw out the junk drawer. Surely you have one, don’t you?
That’s the one where you put things that don’t have a place.
Twist ties, used batteries, expired coupons, and little plastic
pieces that we have no idea what they go to. Why do we feel the
need to keep stuff around that has no value or use? We are
instructed to “run with endurance the race that is set before
us” only after we “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin
which so easily entangles us” (Heb. 12:1). If it’s junk, if
it has no use, if it’s a piece from the past, throw it away.
Get rid of it. Just because you’ve found a hiding place for it
does not mean that it’s no longer there.
Get a good finish. Discouragement is a big deterrent to
spring cleaning. When you start pulling everything out, it can
look more cluttered than when you started. Progress is often
slow. Before long, you get overwhelmed and just put it all back
where you found it. Paul commended the church in Corinth for the
benevolent work they had begun. But a good beginning was not
good enough. “Now finish doing it also, so that just there was
the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion
of it by your ability” (2 Cor. 8:11). Any job worth doing is
going to have its moments where you want to turn back. But we
must press through the difficulties and press along to our
destination.
You won’t regret a good spring cleaning. It will bring seasons
of refreshing. It will bring you back to life.
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Copyright (C)
2008
Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.
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