Deep Cleaning

Philippians 3:13–14 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

It appears we are not through with the jingle bell. Since the day I wrote about it, the bell has been on my desk in plain sight. Every time I tried to put it away, toss it in the trash, whatever…I just couldn’t do it. I’ve learned to ponder such things and asked the Lord to show me what I was missing in the revelation He wanted me to get. There is always a lesson to be learned, some are just more obvious than others.

Several years ago, I taped one of these bells to the Christmas gift of every grandchild. The question wasn’t why I had it but what it was doing in the junk drawer, why I hadn’t noticed it there and what God wanted me to get from it. Then it hit me…I said the other day that every home has a junk drawer, but it is possible for every person to have a ‘junk drawer’ in their mind and heart.

How many times has a ‘junky’ thought, memory or emotion popped up out of nowhere and you just couldn’t shake it off? I know that has happened to me. People tend to jump to conclusions and make assumptions. Sadly, far too many people assume the most negative motive from and attitude about others…then they store it away in their private junk drawer only to have it pop up again and again as if their assumptions were gospel to which they clung.

Although Christians are called to be like Christ, we continue to make mistakes. We fail. In fact, we'll never obtain complete sanctification until we stand before the Lord. But, God uses our imperfections to "grow us" in the faith. If we continue to stash away junk like a squirrel does with his nuts, we are adding to the junk drawer which only serves to impede our growing process.

Be encouraged by Paul's emphasis here on forgetting the past and straining forward to what lies ahead. Don't let yesterday's failures, pain or troubles derail you from the goal of your upward call. Press on for the prize until you meet the Lord Jesus at the finish line. Ask the Lord to set you free from the junk in your life, the junk in your mind and the junk that weighs on your heart! He will do His part; you must do yours. Clean out your junk drawer! 

P.S. Now I want the jingle bell on my desk as a reminder to keep myself free of all the junk.