A Little On Control and Cleanliness

Okay, one of my (many) bad habits is the need to be in control. One way I can best do this is by making lists. I make lists of anything you could ever imagine all the time...while I'm in church, out for lunch, riding in the car, first thing when I get up, before I go to bed...I have ceased to need a reason to make lists! I love lists...and I absolutely love organization. In fact I cannot properly function if everything is a mess and disorganized. It's crazy. But it's just wrong...it shows that I need to be in absolute control of every situation at every time. And I just can't be...it's not right. Even when I am in control of situations I find that many of those times the things still don't end up perfect.

I am human...that's the only reason. I am so flawed and messed up myself that how can I hope to contribute to make a clean and proper place when I am in the wrong place in my life. My only hope is to be able to focus on God...to center myself around Christ and His Word (which includes not just His law but all His Scripture to us). I cannot hope to make anything clean except by cleaning myself first...and even I can't clean myself...I must be cleaned.

Have you ever tried to clean, say, the floor...or maybe the counter or table...you use a rag but that rag is dirty. You'll never ever get that area clean if you always use that dirty rag...so that rag must be cleaned. But since the rag itself is dirty then you can't use the rag to clean the rag...you are the one cleaning the rag before using it to clean other things. So are we like that rag...we are dirty. More than that, we are always continually getting dirtier...it's just our habit and it's because we are a rag so our job is to clean up (or in real life case, we are human and so it is our nature to always sin and never to cease). But God by no work of our own must take us to Him and clean us up before sending us out again.

And that sending out to clean more could be cleaning the lives of others. How do we hope to reform or touch the lives of those who so desperately need us when we need revival and renewal, ourselves? How can we hope to clean up others...clean up not only people but places and education...thoughts and ideals of people as whole...if we ourselves are not in the right place.

So while, yes, I would highly encourage and promote missions and evangelism, I would even more recommend the cleaning up and purifying of ourselves, God's holy and very loved children. We are the people of the Most High...so we cannot be any less than the best for Him...none of this is so that we receive recognition or honor...but rather that all power and glory might go to the only One who truly deserves it.

I would encourage you as you walk throughout your life...whether it's as a young person, an instructing middle-aged person, or one who is older in years to always seek the Lord...always desire to live as before the face of God...to live a life of consistent cleansing that is befitting of pure children of Christ. Life as He would...with humility and love and the knowledge that once you reach a "goal" it is never the end...it is only a small accomplishment in the whole scheme of life. It's not over till you leave this earthly place and go on to glory with God. Every day is a chance for more reformation, both in yourself and then those around you.

Blessings...