“But the inside must be continually maintained, through the process of confessing sins. Not so Jesus can forgive me again–he’s already done that–but so a right relationship can be maintained with Him and those around me, and I can experience JOY.”
I was reading “Reforming Marriage” by Douglas Wilson. Incredible book. The Lord so convicted me through the reading! (And I had already read it before.)
Wilson asks about the aroma of our homes…what do others “smell” when they come in?
When we invite company over for dinner, we can (and do) focus on picking up the visible area of the house; it’s pretty easy to pick up the toys, dust off the shelves, light some candles and make things look nice on the surface.
But what about the closets, the drawers, the deepest parts of our house? Would I be comfortable letting our guests inspect the nooks and crannies?
Spiritually speaking, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about this. He said all the washing and decorating on the outside can’t change the “dead bones” on the inside.
But take note: He did not rebuke them for their “acts” of obedience–tithing, etc. He said, “this you ought to do, and not neglect the other” (love, mercy, justice).
We should be diligent in “cleaning up the outside.” But only after we have made sure the inside is clean.
One thing I was convicted of pondering this lesson is my definition of having the inside clean. I’ve been prone to think that this simply means being saved. Once I’m saved, that’s it for the inside.
But the inside must be continually maintained, through the process of confessing sins. Not so Jesus can forgive me again–he’s already done that–but so a right relationship can be maintained with Him and those around me, and I can experience JOY.
Wilson described how easily sin robs us of the joy of our salvation and breaks relationships with God and those around us. And listen up…IT’S NOT JUST THE BIG SINS. (“Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation!”, cried David, finally.)
It’s the “little” ones (or what we call little) that are so harmful, that we tend to not even call sin, and therefore leave unrepented.
A bad attitude, a disrespectful quip at my husband, a selfish act…left unconfessed, these sins rob us of everything! The aroma of our home begins to be overtaken with a stench, no matter how hard we clean up the surface.
How many Christians have no joy because of unconfessed sin? And the more the contemporary culture tells us “Jesus didn’t really hate sin so much”, the more we lose that joy he intended.
Our first step is to call sin “sin.” Just because we’re having a bad day, or our hormones are not just right, does not excuse us from the sins of the flesh. (Don’t we mothers have a lot to keep in check!)
Then, we need to keep short accounts. Very short. This is where we are forced to die to our flesh daily. “I was wrong…please forgive me.” (“If you bring your alms to the altar and remember that you have sinned against your brother, go and make it right first.”) (paraphrased)
As we practice this sort of true repentance and a hatred of our own sin, we transmit true Christianity to our children.
And this is real discipleship.
