"Finally, dear brothers and sisters,[a] we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body[b]and live in holiness and honor— 5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.6 Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife,[c] for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives."
1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
Today I have picked up my living room about eleventybillion times. Shortly after I vacuumed the floor, one of the littles dumped popcorn all over it. There are socks, toys, books, little strings from the couch pillows, crayons, coins and a plethora of other things that make their way onto my clean floor without fail, no matter how many times I pick them up. Drives. Me. Crazy.
It's hard to keep things clean. It takes effort. But if I don't make an effort to keep my house picked up, the stuff and dust and dirt would accumulate and the task would increase exponentially . Do I enjoy cleaning the same area over and over again? Not hardly. But I don't want to break my neck tripping over My Little Ponies and toy cars, so I pick them up.
Purity in our lives isn't an easy task. Our nature is sinful, and we are constantly making messes of things. Keeping our minds and hearts pure takes effort. Sometimes it is tempting to sit back and let a little dirt gather, telling ourselves we will clean it up later. But before we know it, we are knee-deep in muck and filth and the idea of ever getting clean again seems overwhelming and out of reach.
Jesus offers us the opportunity to be made clean, pure, and whole daily. Although we are far from deserving, He graciously covers our sin with His sacrifice and chooses to forgive us and give us a fresh start over and over and over....you get the idea.
But the fact that we are covered by grace and mercy isn't a license to live recklessly. Choosing actions and attitudes that are impure can be forgiven, but we are still left to live with the consequence of what we've done. And let's be honest- the results of sin are never pretty. They are hard, painful, discouraging, and leave us feeling guilty and ashamed. Jesus wants us to not only walk in His forgiveness, but to also walk in freedom from a life of sin. When we do, we experience the fullness of the life that He died to give us.
So how does the living room of your heart look today? Are there areas that need to be picked up and better maintained? Are you letting your guard down and getting lazy about purity?
Jesus, help me to take an honest look at my life and see where my actions and attitudes may be allowing impure things into my life. Help me to make purity a priority in my life. Thank you that you don't call me to do this alone, but your grace and mercy cover me and make me clean when I feel unworthy and ashamed. I want to live a life that is free from the consequences of sin. Make me clean, Lord.
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