A few days ago, I spent a good deal of time cleaning our tile and wood floors. We have a good sized home so it takes a while to do the job. I cannot stand to walk on floors that feel dirty or gritty and having a dog who loves to run in our back yard through the bushes doesn’t help. He always finds a patch of dirt to go through and then happily brings it into the house. We have a vacuum, a robo cleaner and a dust mop, but no matter what I try, the Florida sand keeps coming back. That’s the price we pay for having a dog and living in sand country.
As I thought about it though, our lives are a lot like that gritty sand on the floor. When we come to Christ in true repentance, He cleans us up and fills us with His Holy Spirit. Then, before we know it, old sinful habits, unkind words, or thoughts we ought to avoid can come creeping back into our lives just like that nasty sand. We can feel it in our hearts as the Holy Spirit convicts us. It seems like a never ending cycle, but we must remember that while Jesus Christ has forgiven us of our sins and made us new creations in Him, we still carry with us the old flesh until we go home to be with Him.
Paul knew all about that struggle. Read all of Romans chapter 7 for a full exposition, but let me highlight verses 15-20: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have a desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” Then Paul asks a good question in verse 24b: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” He concludes by saying in verse 25a “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” It is only through the blood of Christ that we find forgiveness for those daily sins that still way us down in the body. One day, we shall see Him and be made perfect as He is but until then, we have a great remedy given to us to get rid of that sin in our soul.
I John 1:9 tells us: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That is why, along with Paul, we can thank Jesus Christ for what He has done for us. We do not have to keep that grit in our souls any more than I need to keep it on my floor. Long ago, I learned that a good practice is to stop and take a daily moral inventory as we pray each morning asking God to reveal to us where we have fallen short of His glory. Then, we confess those sins He brings to mind and ask forgiveness for those things which we did that we are not even aware of doing. This clears our heart, and sets us free to begin the day walking by the Spirit.
God is at work in each of us conforming us to the image of His dear Son. He will finish the work He has begun in us, but we must make certain to keep our hearts clean before Him. We should rejoice along with Paul in saying “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” One day we will leave the flesh behind, but until that day, we have the privilege of coming to God to repent when we stumble. I wish it was that easy in keeping my floors clean, but that is another story! May God help us to quickly turn to Him when we have sinned that we might walk by His Spirit and not in the flesh. Selah!
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