Cleaning out the Closet
We all have those spaces in our homes that store junk, right? Those shelves, cupboards or hidden away places where everything gets stuffed away in a hurried effort to clean the house.
Suddenly, without much effort, everything looks neat and tidy, just in time for the guests to arrive for dinner. You have a great time, and maybe they even comment on how great the place looks, but at the end of the night when everyone goes home and the light are all out, the mess is still there. It might be hidden away for now, but it’s still there, and eventually it comes back out.
In a similar way, we have these spaces in our hearts. Places where we hide away junk that we don’t want to deal with. Areas where we stuff down emotions we don’t want to face, or memories that we don’t want to revisit. We store our disappointments there, and maybe some parts of our character that we know need attention. It’s easier to hide them away.
We hide them, not only from ourselves, but from others. I mean, who doesn’t want to look good to the people around them? Who doesn’t want to look like they have it all together? Like their life is on track, like it’s all sunshine and rainbows just like their perfect instagram feed. So we stuff the closet.
But that doesn’t mean that the issues go away, or that they don’t eventually spill over into our everyday lives. At some point or another, we have to face the truth that what is on the inside of our lives actually determines what we see on the outside. Sooner or later, we have to deal with the junk we have been hiding away.
We may live in a society that is obsessed with presenting a good image, but if you have made the decision to follow Jesus, you are in personal relationship with a God who is way more interested in how the inside of you looks.
In fact, Jesus addressed a group of people more concerned with their appearances in Matthew 23.
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and Pharisees—frauds and imposters! You are like one who will only wipe clean the outside of a cup or bowl, leaving the inside filthy. You are foolish to ignore the greed and self-indulgence that live like germs within you. You are blind and deaf to your evil. Shouldn’t the one who cleans the outside also be concerned with cleaning the inside? You need to have more than clean dishes; you need clean hearts!
Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and Pharisees—frauds and imposters! You are nothing more than tombs painted with fresh coats of white paint—tombs that look shining and beautiful on the outside, but within are found decaying corpses full of nothing but corruption. Outwardly you masquerade as righteous people, but inside your hearts you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Matthew 23:25-28
These sound like harsh words, don’t they? But if I honestly reflect on the times in my life that I have tried to look good in front of others, while ignoring the deeper needs of my heart and soul, I always ended up in great sorrow. Don’t you? Jesus wasn’t cursing these people (who were actually leaders and teachers of the Jewish temple!), He was simply pointing out where the road they were choosing would lead. They looked good on the outside, but were ignoring the internal issues of the heart. The issues that matter the most. The ultimate destination if you choose this road is anxiety and sorrow. I mean, how long can you play the game? How long can you keep it looking like you have it figured out? The truth is that all of us are on a journey, and none of us have arrived yet.
The good news is that Jesus wants you just as you are. He accepts you just as you are- junk closet and all! And, he is willing to help you out where it counts the most- on the inside.
This, in its most simplest definition, is what it means to be a disciple. It is simply working with Jesus to clean our the junk in your life. To go through the closet, honestly and openly, and be open to change and transformation.
Today’s blog post isn’t an essay. It is simply and invitation. A personal invitation from the Holy Spirit Himself to give up on the game of looking good. To give up the chase of a perfect appearance on the outside, and to begin to pursue true transformation on the inside. Where it counts.
If you are feeling brave enough, I invite you to pray the following Psalm of David. Pray it honestly and openly, then be willing to wait and see what the Holy Spirit brings to light in his presence and to take action on it!
‘God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart.
Examine me through and through;
find out everything that may be hidden within me.
Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.
See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on,
and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting ways—
the path that brings me back to you.’Amen
Lots of love, Jess