Life is Messy
I remember being amazed at my son's talent for making such incredibly powerful sounds at such a young age. But my amazement quickly turned to apprehension as I began to get the sensation of a strange and unfamiliar type of "baby warmth" that began steaming over my lap, the area where he was sitting. At first I thought it would be okay, but then I began to clue into the fact that this was not his normal thunder from down under. This one had much more noise and oomph behind it. Plus, I had never had this type of "baby warmth" come over me before.
As I began pondering how messy parenting can be at times, it caused me to ponder how messy life is in general for all of us. I then began to meditate upon a passage in Scripture that I had recently read. In Exodus 29:36 the LORD tells Moses, "And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it."
When God instructs Moses to cleanse the altar after the sacrifice for sin is made, it reminds us that those of us who come to God in faith have messy lives, that need to be cleaned up. This verse paints a beautiful symbolic picture for us of God's desire to clean us up whenever we make a mess out of our lives. And once God cleans us up He anoints us with His Spirit and sanctifies us (sets us apart) for His service (which is our purpose in life)!
That day when my son Jeremiah made a mess of everything - his hands, his feet, his legs, his socks, his clothes, the changing table, and even my hands - I didn't want to give Him back to God, put him up for adoption, or set him in a basket outside hoping someone else would take him and clean him up for me.
No, I wanted to clean him up so that we could enjoy our time together again, without him living as a complete mess. This is God's desire for you today as well. He loves you, and wants to clean up the messy areas of your life, so that you can enjoy your relationship with Him.
The Bible tells us, "God demonstrates His love towards us, in that while we were still sinners (who have made messes of our life), that Jesus Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). The Bible also tells us that, "If we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Here we read that the way God cleans up our messy lives, is by confessing our sins to Him (1 John 1:9), and putting our faith in Jesus (Romans 5:8).
I hope and pray if you are a person who finds that you have made a mess of your life, and you are tired of doing things your way instead of God's way, that at this very moment you will determine to go to God to be cleansed, put your trust in His Son Jesus, and begin living for His will and purposes for your life.
So please be encouraged, and go to God at the altar, because He is the business of cleaning up the messes that His children make in life, and giving us a brand new start, where we can do things God's way and experience the blessings that come from following Jesus.
... Some additional insights to think about ...
Parenting tip #1 - Always put pants on over the onesie and the diaper. The jeans that he had on absorbed all of the mess that escaped his diaper and onesie. Let me tell you, it would have been an uglier, smellier messier day for me without those jeans!
Parenting tip #2 - When we think of our unwavering love for our children, and our deep rooted devotion to taking care of them, cleaning them up when they make a mess, providing for them, and making sure that they know that they are loved all the days of their life... it should remind us that if we are imperfect people who are able to love our children to such great lengths, how much more does God, who is perfect love us, and desire to clean us up, provide for us, and lovingly care for us all the days of our lives. Jesus tells us, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" - Matthew 7:11
