Housekeeping

by Macy Johnson

“Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.”

(Nehemiah 13:14 NIV)

I’ve been a sloppy heart/house keeper lately. Neither my heart nor my house will clean themselves.

Do I ignore the stench of rotting desires in my heart as piles of dust and clutter multiply inside my home? There is a connection, the physical with the spiritual, just as in Nehemiah’s account of cleansing the temple and tackling personal reform.

My mother urged me to be sensitive to the needs of others, especially her need to keep our home immaculate. “Look at these filthy floors and foul bathrooms,” she would declare.  My husband graciously points out the specks of dust I can’t see, or old food boxes and bags that clutter the pantry.

I remember visiting my mother when Daddy was in a nursing home. I was stunned how the years had snatched her scrupulous sensitivity to the grime on her kitchen counters. Is that what happens when our brains wear out? Maybe some things go to the back burner (literally), off the earthly check-off lists. Not so in God’s eternal kingdom.

For our own good, God never lets up. He pleads: “Clean up those hidden rooms that have become dusty and grimy – those secret sins. You ignore them, but I can’t. Throw out those useless activities that clutter your life and rob time and attention from me. They are fluff, worthless in my kingdom. Instead, fill your heart with my treasures!” 

So, into the heart trash-dump I toss the box of stale relationships and multiple bags of thingamajigs, which were taking up much needed space for Jesus. Cleaning the compartments of my heart are a daily, oftentimes hourly routine.

I will grab the sponge and bucket and get to work on my heart today. I hope you will, too!