My friend Kevin recently cut his finger on the tip of his thumb. He explained that he was weeding in his backyard and as he went to grab a weed, there was an old piece of glass sticking up and he jammed his finger into it causing a pretty bloody cut. Of course, stories like those invoke memories of other similar cuts and wounds. I remember walking barefoot in my backyard as a kid and stepping on a fish hook. No one in our family owns a tackle box, let alone fishes, but there it was in the yard, unseen. The fish hook stuck in my foot which panicked me. My parents had a difficult time trying to calm me down. I rose such a fit about it, I wouldn’t let them touch me, nor get me into the car to take me to the hospital. I insisted my parents were not trained professionals and had no business touching the fish hook. Eventually, they called the paramedics who without fuss, pulled the hook out of my foot within the first minute I was there; one of my less stellar moments.
But it is amazing what can be in someone’s yard, unseen, perhaps even for years. For some, it isn’t until a barefoot stroll or a weeding session that you realize the trash and dangers lurking in an otherwise pristine yard.
Then there are the other yards; the yards with broken down cars, construction debris, or old tires; non-functioning garden lights, or broken christmas decorations. You can’t help but see all of the trash in a yard like that.
In a way, this is how the Christian journey is. For some, it is obvious to others and to ourselves what garbage we have in our lives. Lest someone hear the accidental swear word or easily discover an addiction, many are embarrassed to even step inside of a church. But as the journey with Christ progressesses, the obvious sins are removed. The sanctifying work of the Lord is “cleaning house” or “yard,” as it may be. Unfortunately for many, once the big obvious sins are for the most part removed, the work is halted. From the street, it looks good and we’re finding the clean up process is harder than we thought. But Christ does not want to live on the curb of our lives. He wants to reside fully with us, not just let us keep up with the “Jones’.” “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48).
So, we must press on. We must stay humble and quickly admit when the broken shards of glass are discovered or the odd fish hook is stumbled upon. He will work with us to continue to remove these impurities from our lives. We received our gift of salvation through grace; un-earned, unmerited. In the same way, he wants us to walk with him. “Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in him.” (Colossians 2:26).