Yesterday on our way to visit Mammaw and Pappaw, Harmony had a chocolate chip granola bar. In typical Harmony style, she savored it, licking it, smooshing it, and generally making a large mess all over her hands and face. So I handed her a wipe once she was done. She did a good job cleaning her fingers and face.
Then I heard her chirp "God is cleaning the outside of the window while I'm cleaning the inside." She was happily wiping every inch of the window that she could reach with the chocolate covered, lemon scented baby wipe, while the rain beat down on the outside of the window. Needless to say, God did a much better job of cleaning the window than Harmony did.
Don't we do the same thing sometimes, trying to clean our dirty hearts with our own dirty rags? Our own efforts look a lot like the Pharisees, and Jesus had some pretty harsh things to say to them in Matthew 23. Particularly fitting here are verses 25 and 26, which say,
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."
God, forgive me for the times when I try to fix things myself instead of bringing them to you. Clean us from the inside out so that your light can clearly shine through us, without distortion.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
That's too funny about the window. At least she made an effort to clean. And what a great analogy.
Today, while waiting on Emma at piano, I spied Olivia and Ruthie "cleaning" our windows with wipes and crayons. Sigh...must be a universal! Maybe it's a sign our girls wil enjoy cleaning?
Post a Comment