Aug 5

Written by: tim
8/5/2009 9:42 AM 

My wife, Tina, and our two children were packed and loaded to embark on a trip to see Grandpa and Grandma along with uncles, aunts, a cousin and maybe some other extended family.  I am staying home for a little time of "R&R" myself, a little renovation and repair.  After something to eat I sent the dog out to play and I set myself to the task at hand.

The plan is to put some new flooring down in our home to replace a carpet that has needed to be discarded for a while.  My utility knife and I went to work cutting the carpet and hauling it out of the house.  That seemed to go pretty well so next went the underlayment and that was even easier than the carpet itself but as I pulled it all up I got quite an eye full (and even a little in the mouth) of dust and dirt.  We're not dirty people!  We vacuum.  We shampoo.  We soak up spills.  We take off our shoes.  And yet there it was sitting all over my sub-floor.  As I beavered away and removed staples, tack strips for the carpet and piles of dirt it occurred to me that as much as I thought we were cleaning our place our efforts were not as effective as I thought.

For the most part we had kept the surface of our carpet clean but over time little bits of dirt found their way down there where we couldn't see them.  It wasn't until I physically ripped the carpet out that I was able to fully clean these areas and remove all the gunk.  Stains left by a previous owner's cat got a healthy slathering of Kilz which was sometimes followed by another.  The process didn't really take that long to accomplish but it did require a level of thoroughness far beyond average.

I believe there are times when we need to deal with our own hearts in this same way.  We may be vacuuming or even shampooing from time to time but what we need is a complete overhaul.  Dirt has slipped through the pores and we are either unwilling or unable to see it much less deal with it.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  Psalm 139:23, 24 (NIV)

I would encourage you to take time soon to have this very open and revealing conversation with the Lord just like David did.  God is good, merciful and gracious but he also wants to see His children fully and completely clean. 

Invite Him to pull off the carpet and get down to business.