A few months back my husband and I decided to take on a home improvement project. We convinced ourselves that we were capable of gutting our shower to the studs and applying new tile on our own. Before you ask, I will answer.......no, neither one of us had ever done anything like this before and although it did turn out beautiful we won’t be quitting our jobs to become professional masonry people (I don’t even know the correct title), any time soon.
As the project was nearing the end it came time to wipe down the newly laid tile. There was grout everywhere because, as I mentioned before, we are far from being professionals. I wiped and wiped that tile with everything I could think of. I used brushes, steel wool, and a paint scraper to get the chunks of grout that had fallen and stuck to the tile below. All while I was doing this God taught me a very important lesson.
Removing the sin from our lives sometimes takes more than just lightly rubbing it away. Cleaning our hearts takes time, training and hard work. Changing our thoughts and our life takes a willingness to allow God to transform us. We can’t just say we want to change and not work at it. Yes, God will help us if we call on him but there is some work involved, on our part. I was sweating as I scrubbed that tile clean. My arms were tired from scrubbing and, at times, I felt like I was getting no where. A few times I looked over to admire a section I had already cleaned to find it still dirty after the tile dried.
The bible teaches of a similar situation:
“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and clean. Then the spirt finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45 msg.
The dirt on my shower wall resembled sin, or the evil spirit in this scripture. I cleaned it, just wiped over it with warm water and soap, but after it dried the dirt reappeared only to stand out even worse on a wall that was beginning to show signs of improvement. I quickly realized that if I wanted to get that tile sparkling I would have to get something to scrape and scrub every bit of that grout away. I would have to work at it and I would need help! The same goes with the sin in our lives. Yes, we can ask God’s forgiveness for a specific sin and He will forgive us immediately but if we aren’t willing to get rid of the sin in our life it will reappear and continue to be a part of who we are. If we aren’t willing to work at transforming our minds and accept the change that God is asking of us then our actions will continue and the sin will repeat itself. More importantly we have to fill that empty spot in our life with God. We have to fill those lustful thoughts, those thoughts of sin with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is hard work going through tough issues, allowing God to break us of old habits and ideas, but it is well worth it!
The second thing I learned while cleaning up the tile came when it was time to seal the grout. Just like we seal grout to keep out stains and unwanted dirt, The Holy Spirit is our seal to keep out unwanted sin in our lives. When Jesus died for us we were given the Holy Spirit to walk with us on earth (John 16:7). When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we were also accepting the Holy Spirits’ role in our life. The Holy Spirit is our guide and dwells within our hearts. God gave us the Spirit to help transform us and guide our lives. With the Spirit we are protected from the dangers of sin, and our perspective of sin therefore changes. With the Spirit we are filled with righteousness and the desire to do good. We no longer want the things of this world nor do we want to take part of the evil that this world has to offer. The permanency of sin and its consequences are no longer a threat because with the Spirit we are sealed. Similar to my grout after I sealed it, the dirt may settle on the surface but it will never penetrate it. Yes, we will sin, but that sin can no longer stain our hearts! That sin can easily be washed away and if we are willing that sin can be removed from our lives forever. Through Jesus Christ we are free! We are signed, sealed and delivered by the Holy Spirit. It is a sign that we are His children and we will get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life! (Ephesians 1:3-14 Msg).
Yes, yes praise God for the love He gives us! Praise Him for His mercies each morning! Praise Him for the gift of His Holy Spirit to guide us and protect us on earth! Praise God for the little lessons He so faithfully teaches us when we are kingdom minded and working for His Glory! I encourage you to invite God into your next home improvement project.......work for His glory, and watch it turn into a heart improvement ;)
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