This is yet another post written by my friend Mrs. Anitha Abby. You can read her previous post here!
After moving to Saudi, I have begun to develop an obsession with cleanliness (especially of my kitchen, which probably has something to do with my fear of cockroaches) and hence I have begun to notice the speed at which dust accumulates at my home. I began to think of all the time I spend cleaning my home, taking out the trash etc. Even if I dust, vacuum and straighten up every other day, I would still find dust accumulated on nearly every surface of the house in a day or two. Dust just needs a small orifice and its back in our homes.
I started to reflect on how the state of our homes is a lot like our lives. We accumulate dust and filth through our everyday lives and sometimes we don’t even realize it. We pick up dust from this ungodly world, from people that we interact with on a regular basis and are close to, from our evil thoughts and actions, hatred, greed, resentment, pride and the list just goes on. This dust will blind us, cloud our vision, rob us of our blessings and can eventually cause great damage in our lives.
It is true that Christ cleansed us of our sins and that we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. But that does not mean we are always and forever clean. Just like in the case of our homes, we will accumulate dust through our journey in this messed up world. We need a daily cleansing. The longer we wait, the harder it is to clean the dust the next time and as time goes by we become accustomed to the dust and filth in our lives and slowly the garbage in our lives will destroy us. We have to bathe ourselves everyday with the rivers of living water. 1 John 1:9 reminds us,
“If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Would you like to live in a home that’s filthy, smelly and filled with garbage? No, you wouldn’t. Should we then defile the temple of the Holy Spirit that is our body? Let us examine our lives and find out what minimizes our love and devotion to God, what hinders our faith, what pulls us away from Christ. That stuff does not belong in our life. We are God’s temple. God’s Spirit dwells in us. If we allow the dust to accumulate we will lose our appetite for the Word of God and the Holy Spirit will not be able to penetrate into our lives anymore. So don’t let life stop you from regular examination of your spiritual condition and your relationship with God. Be a living sanctuary that is pure, holy and true for our Lord. 2 Tim 2:21(NLT) says,
“ If a man therefore purge himself of these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and meet for the master’s use”
Lord ,prepare me to be a sanctuary , pure and holy, tried and true!