Day 29
A few weeks ago we held a graduation party for our daughter. Preparations for the party began weeks before and continued until hours before guest began arriving. At 3:00 we decided the house was ready and began to relax. We had a great time celebrating her achievement with over fifty friends and family members. As ten o’clock approached and the last guest were leaving, we surveyed the house and realized yet another cleaning was needed.
Housework can be very challenging. You defeat the pile of laundry on the bed only to see the hamper busting a the seams a few days later. You beat back the mildew in the shower to a standstill only to see it re-drawing the battle lines a week later. Is there ever a time the sink is completely empty? The strain of housekeeping pushes some to exclaim, “why bother cleaning it will only get dirty again?”
Read the following passage, there is an import parallel between housekeeping and maintaining a healthy spiritual life.
Matthew 12:43-45 (New International Version)
43"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
The parallel Jesus draws can be illustrated in the battle with addiction. There is a point where the alcoholics we serve desire to quit. Liver decease, memory loss, violence, and jail can convince anyone to try something new. The next step is often a detox clinic where the toxins are purged and chemical dependency is broken. Once declared “clean”, the patient should be able to set a new course, freed from the bondage of addiction. However, the sad reality is a pattern of binge drinking followed by detox, followed by harder binge drinking is often the result. The original troubles are confronted and driven away only to make room for larger struggles.
This parallel to housekeeping does not only apply to people struggling with addiction. We are spiritual beings, we seek a vast array spiritual solutions to our troubles. However, these spiritual quick fixes often cause more troubles than the original problem. We recently attended a class on stress management. Yoga techniques and meditation were encouraged to help participants reach a quiet place of emptiness. It was suggested once you construct this empty place for yourself you will find, somewhere deep within, a better you with answers. Cleaning house in this manner will only lead to another sink-full of thoughts. The end result is often people throwing there hands and saying, “why bother”.
Meditation is healthy. However, once you have cleaned house, there is only one solution to sustaining the peace, invite God to dwell within. The pursuit of emptiness is the pursuit of the fullness of God. The empty space people fill with addictions, distractions, selfish desires, pain, pride, and self loathing is meant for one purpose; it is where God’s Holy Spirit is meant to dwell. Nothing else can reside there for long. Each attempt to clean house will only invite more trouble. The more counterfeit spiritual options are offered, the more confused our world becomes.
Christians have been guilty of abandoning those led to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. If this occurs before God can take up residence the result may be similar to the empty experience of other spiritual dead-ends. Unprotected new Christians can fall prey to the addictions and distractions which once held them captive. It is the responsibility of the church to walk alongside new Christians and teach them how to develop a deep relationship with God and strengthen their faith to withstand attack.
Connections will encourage those we serve to make room within themselves for God to reside. As God moves in we will walk alongside to protect them and teach them. Connections will not abandon those we serve. We will accept the responsibility to shepherd the flock God provides.
A few weeks ago we held a graduation party for our daughter. Preparations for the party began weeks before and continued until hours before guest began arriving. At 3:00 we decided the house was ready and began to relax. We had a great time celebrating her achievement with over fifty friends and family members. As ten o’clock approached and the last guest were leaving, we surveyed the house and realized yet another cleaning was needed.
Housework can be very challenging. You defeat the pile of laundry on the bed only to see the hamper busting a the seams a few days later. You beat back the mildew in the shower to a standstill only to see it re-drawing the battle lines a week later. Is there ever a time the sink is completely empty? The strain of housekeeping pushes some to exclaim, “why bother cleaning it will only get dirty again?”
Read the following passage, there is an import parallel between housekeeping and maintaining a healthy spiritual life.
Matthew 12:43-45 (New International Version)
43"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
The parallel Jesus draws can be illustrated in the battle with addiction. There is a point where the alcoholics we serve desire to quit. Liver decease, memory loss, violence, and jail can convince anyone to try something new. The next step is often a detox clinic where the toxins are purged and chemical dependency is broken. Once declared “clean”, the patient should be able to set a new course, freed from the bondage of addiction. However, the sad reality is a pattern of binge drinking followed by detox, followed by harder binge drinking is often the result. The original troubles are confronted and driven away only to make room for larger struggles.
This parallel to housekeeping does not only apply to people struggling with addiction. We are spiritual beings, we seek a vast array spiritual solutions to our troubles. However, these spiritual quick fixes often cause more troubles than the original problem. We recently attended a class on stress management. Yoga techniques and meditation were encouraged to help participants reach a quiet place of emptiness. It was suggested once you construct this empty place for yourself you will find, somewhere deep within, a better you with answers. Cleaning house in this manner will only lead to another sink-full of thoughts. The end result is often people throwing there hands and saying, “why bother”.
Meditation is healthy. However, once you have cleaned house, there is only one solution to sustaining the peace, invite God to dwell within. The pursuit of emptiness is the pursuit of the fullness of God. The empty space people fill with addictions, distractions, selfish desires, pain, pride, and self loathing is meant for one purpose; it is where God’s Holy Spirit is meant to dwell. Nothing else can reside there for long. Each attempt to clean house will only invite more trouble. The more counterfeit spiritual options are offered, the more confused our world becomes.
Christians have been guilty of abandoning those led to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. If this occurs before God can take up residence the result may be similar to the empty experience of other spiritual dead-ends. Unprotected new Christians can fall prey to the addictions and distractions which once held them captive. It is the responsibility of the church to walk alongside new Christians and teach them how to develop a deep relationship with God and strengthen their faith to withstand attack.
Connections will encourage those we serve to make room within themselves for God to reside. As God moves in we will walk alongside to protect them and teach them. Connections will not abandon those we serve. We will accept the responsibility to shepherd the flock God provides.
No comments:
Post a Comment