Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Cleaning Drawers

Suggested Bible Reading: Psalm 51

What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then, conceive a new, true life.

Psalm 51:6 (The Message)

I once heard an illustration of the difference between Luther’s reformation and that of John Calvin. The two reformations, said the author, resemble the cleaning out of a dresser drawer. In Luther’s reformation he pulled out the drawer and took out only those parts of the Catholic tradition that he believed were detrimental. John Calvin, on the other hand, pulled out the drawer, dumped everything out on the bed and put back into the drawer only what he believed was good for the life the church.

This delightful comparison also represents what God wants to do in our lives. We are the proverbial dresser drawer! When God pulls it out to take a look inside it may be that the accumulated junk inside reveals a necessary clean out. Through difficulties, hardships, downturns and disappointment our drawer’s contents are dumped out and replaced only with that which reveals the truth about who we are in Christ.

The best part of this analogy is that God never leaves our drawers empty. Having cleaned it thoroughly, he puts back only that which pleases him and will bring him glory. With this “reformation” there are no fears of being discovered a fraud. What people see is exactly what they will get—a person whose identity is grounded in the truth of God’s love.

Thought for the Day: What does God see when he looks in my "drawers?"

Open me up Lord!
Clean out my life’s drawer so that whoever sees me
will know the truth of your amazing love.
Amen.

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