Brand New

For those of you who wear makeup, you know how easy it is for your sink to get pretty yucky from washing your face each day. Beige, olive, tan or brown residue from foundation and powder. Black or dark brown specks from mascara. Hints of pink, red or burgundy from blush. Shimmers of bronze or gold from highlighter. And a rainbow of possibilities from an assortment of eyeshadow colors. All accumulating little by little over the course of time until one day, it’s like your eyes are awakened to the reality of just how dirty your sink has become.

Even though your eyes have been opened, if you’re anything like me, it’s rare that you stop what you’re doing right then and there to clean it. Day after day, you somehow are able to convince yourself you don’t have time to clean it right then, and that you’ll clean it later. And as the days continue to pass by, later keeps getting later and later and later. Then one day, you just can’t take it anymore. You stop what you’re doing and finally determine it can’t go on like this any longer.

Well, today was that day for me. After I washed my hands in that same sink for the third time, I finally said, “Enough is enough. I’ve got to clean this right now.” I went and got my bathroom cleaner, sprayed down the sink, and walked away to let it sit for just a few minutes. By the time I put the cleaner away and got something to wipe the sink with, I went back in to get to work. Because I knew how dirty it was and how long I had neglected it, and I could still see all the dirt still there; I went in with a little extra elbow grease. To my surprise, it didn’t even take all that. The cloth glided across the sink with ease and revealed the sparkling, white porcelain that was waiting to be revealed underneath. I didn’t have to exert any extra strength because the cleaner had already done all the work. All I had to do was rinse the sink out and all the dirt was washed away. It was like I had a brand new sink. It was as clean as the day it was installed.

Is any of this sounding familiar to you? It may not be makeup for you, but there are things in each of our lives that little by little, gradually over time, we allow to accumulate when we don’t take the time to stop and clean away the dirt of the day. If we live in this world, we are going to encounter some pretty yucky things. The checkout person at the store with the bad attitude. The inconsiderate colleague who’s never on time for anything. The person who cut you off in traffic. The bills that are still sitting on the table unpaid. Not passing the test you stayed up all night studying for. Being taken advantage of by family members for the one hundredth time. Those thoughts that keep popping in your head that you know you shouldn’t be meditating on. If we allow things like this to accumulate in our lives, the beauty of who we really are won’t be allowed to shine through. That’s why it’s so important that we cast all our cares on the Lord each and every day. That’s why we need to be quick to forgive and not hold grudges. Just like we need to keep our physical house clean, we also need to keep our spiritual house clean.

You may be saying, “It’s been a really long time. I’ve accumulated a lot of dirt. My life looks terrible. It’s too overwhelming. I don’t even know where to begin.” Well, be encouraged! What may be too hard for you, is really simple for God! You see, once the blood of Jesus is applied, no additional elbow grease is necessary. It does all the work! Simply wash yourself in the water of the Word and watch all the dirt be washed away. You will be made clean. You will be brand new!

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