Covenant News
Devotional: Sins, 'Messes' Are Our Own Doing
CHICAGO, IL (April 6, 2004) - Covenant Communications occasionally publishes online devotionals, gleaned from the more than 250 local church newsletters received each month and used with permission of the writers. The following devotional comes from pastor Don Johnson of Salem Covenant Church in New Brighton, Minnesota.By Don Johnson
I now have an office at home and since my wife Martha and I are now "empty nesting," evenings are quieter and often I do my writing and reading at home. The room in which I chose to do this is a basement bedroom.
I cleared out most of my son's stuff (though there still is a small stack in the corner) and I set it up just my way. I have a Lazy-Boy chair, nice desk, several lamps, bookcases and all the equipment I need. The only problem is the clutter. The room seems to make a mess all by itself! In other times I could blame the kids for the clutter, but now there is no one else but Martha, and she is devoted to neatness and order. I have had to face the sad fact that I make my own clutter. I create my own messes. And I need to clean the room up regularly. I hate that!
Lent is the time we have been looking at the messes in our lives. "Mess" is a nice euphemism for "sin." In my younger years in the faith, my sins were often the result of someone else's negligence - "If only he would have done such-and-such, I would not have said that harsh word or done that wicked act." We pass our sins off to exhaustion, stress, disappointment with other Christians and the church organization not being there for us.
But as I mature in my faith, I realize that my messes and my sins are my own doing. I would like to blame someone else, but I'm alone in my own house and there is no one else to blame. Lent is the time for me to clean up the mess in my own heart. Unfortunately, it's not like spring-cleaning; you do it once really well in the spring and then release for several months. Lent reminds me that cleaning is a regular discipline of the mature Christian's life.
If we did not have the resurrected Savior, this would be bleak and depressing news. The good news is that forgiveness is at hand, new starts are possible, cleansing is a reality. I invite you, for the balance of this season of Lent, to allow the Holy Spirit to give you a guided tour of the rooms of your life and start some cleaning. Take advantage of the services of Holy Week to hear the good news, reflect on the Last Supper and listen to the sounds of Good Friday. And be sure to come and celebrate the Good News of resurrection on Easter morning.
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