I CLEANED OUT MY SHED THE OTHER DAY…

JOHN CLARDY

2 Corinthians 7:1  Since we have these promises, dear friends, we need to cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit and live a holy life in the fear of God.

Titus 3:3-5 

3          For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

4          But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

5          Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

If asked to list my top ten favorite things I enjoy, I would probably struggle to decide what would go on that list.  But there are some things that are no brainers when it comes to what wouldn’t be there -Things liking visiting the dentist, eating liver (how can people eat a bodily filter and call it delicious), taking family portraits, just to name a few.  

One that would defiantly be on most peoples’ list (unless you are OCD) would be cleaning house. House cleaning is something we all prefer to avoid, but it is something that is a constant necessity.  Around our house it is a daily, even hourly need.  There are so many activities and it seems like there are always clothes in the washer, dishes in the sink, trash that needs taking out, something needing dusting or straightening, a pile of socks (usually mine) that needs to be picked up. It is tempting sometimes just to let cleaning go for a day or two, but the longer it is neglected, the more things pile up and the more effort and energy that must be expended to get things back in their proper place and in good condition again.

Just the other day I tackled cleaning out my shed.   Over the winter, I had been saying I need to clean out my shed, but I seemed to always procrastinate when it came to actually doing it. It was too cold, or it was raining, or I needed (needed?) to be in the woods deer hunting. 

Meanwhile I was steadily stacking things into my shed.  I don’t know what happened, but the plethora of items I had piled up  must have felt like they were in prison and were planning to break out because they were steadily and stealthily creeping closer and closer to the door. I guess they were hoping to be able to spring out to freedom when I wasn’t on guard. 

Finally after getting tired of stumbling over yard equipment and fish fryers and digging through piles of electrical cords and hunting gear to find some tool I desperately needed, I decided to clean up everything.  It was a job! Took me the better part of a Saturday to do it, but I got it done. 

You know the funny thing was that there was such a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction and yes even peace when it was finally done.

As I admired my newly cleaned shed, I thought how often it is that I have let my mind and spirit become just like a cluttered shed or a messy house. If people were to look at the outside of my shed, everything looked like it was in order.  With the door closed, everything looked fine. Paint wasn’t peeling, door wasn’t falling off the hinges, and windows weren’t broken.  But on the inside it was cluttered, messy and out of sorts.

How often does our outward appearance look wonderful, but inwardly we are messy and cluttered with things that are out of place?  Dirty things like bad attitudes and lustful thoughts have piled up. We have allowed hurt feelings, bitterness, guilt, condemnation and anger to stack up until there is a huge mess behind the doors of our hearts.  We stumble over bad habits, worry and anxiety until havoc and chaos overwhelm us. 

We know we need to clean things up.  We know we need to repent.  We know we need a good washing from the Holy Spirit and yet we put it off, finding excuse after excuse to justify our condition.

How often has procrastination robbed us of peace? How often has negative, stinking thinking spoiled our spirits?

Maybe you are like me today.  Maybe you need to do a little heart cleaning of your own.  I know I need to clean out impatience and be more patient with my family.  I know I need to remove critical and judgmental attitudes and be kinder and more forgiving to those around me!  I know I need to get rid of self promotion, and self serving desires and seek to be a better servant.  

Is it fun to do?  Not usually.  Is it easy to do?  No, it takes time and work.  Is it pleasant?  No, the truth often is painful before it is profitable.  However, when it is done what a feeling of peace and accomplishment that fills our lives!  When everything is decent and in order!

It should be every child of God’s prayer for God to create a clean heart and right spirit in us. And while we understand that the only way we can achieve a clean heart is through the saving, regenerating power of Jesus Christ, we also know that after God had done His work of regeneration,  we must do our part to maintain the cleanness of our hearts.  We accomplish this by daily and frequent renewal of our minds and our lives by washing them in the Word and Spirit of God.

Take it from me, I know John Clardy well enough to know that this won’t be the last time I have to clean out my shed and it won’t be the last time I have to have God’s help to clean out my heart and straighten up my life – BUT as long as I stay in the process, I know that eventually it will pay off.

Ephesians 5:26-27 

26         He made the church holy by the power of His word, and He made it pure by washing it with water.

27         Christ did this, so that He would have a glorious and holy church, without faults or spots or wrinkles or any other flaws.