1 Corinthians 10:1-5
Remember our history, friends,
and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and
taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a
baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation
life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided
daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God’s fountain for them that
stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just
experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much—most of
them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert,
and God was not pleased.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
Years ago, I had a
housekeeper who did an amazing job. She kept our house thoroughly clean
and pretty well did a better job than I did! When this person left to
take another job, I hired someone new. I should have known there was a
problem when the new woman could “clean” the same house in about half
the time of the first housekeeper. For a while, I marveled at how nice
and neat the house looked – and chalked it up to the additional help
from a relative who came along to share the workload.
After a
month or two, I began to notice that the house didn’t seem all that
clean. It would look nice and neat for a day or so…but I discovered
areas that had really not been scrubbed at all…like the shower. A light
rub-down and spritz of cleaner gave it a sparkly appearance…but
underneath, there was a buildup of grime and scum that soon became
disgustingly apparent. And that was the tip of the iceberg. It
ultimately took me several days to get our house back to the condition
that the other housekeeper had maintained for us. And I ended up doing
the housekeeping myself afterward. I’d had the best, and I didn’t think
I could ever replicate her level of commitment again!
How does
this relate to our spiritual life – and this scripture passage? It’s
all about going the second mile. Moses’ people listened to God speak
through him…they followed God and pledged allegiance to Him – for a
while. And then they went back to their old ways. They were “all in”
for God’s gifts, goodness and blessings…but they didn’t fully
internalize His message. They didn’t embrace His grace, mercy,
forgiveness, and healing - and allow Him to change them from the inside
out. So essentially, things looked all sparkly and shiny on the
surface…but underneath, a layer of grime and scum built up that could
not be ignored.
God has so much to offer us. And most of us are
eager to sign on and take all that He will give! But are we willing to
go the extra mile…to do the “deep cleaning” of our hearts and minds…to
do the hard work of maintaining a spotless vessel for Him? Are we
demonstrating a level of commitment to God that is beyond reproach? Or
are we giving Him justification to throw up His hands and say, “Enough!
I’m done with him/her!” Oh, how I hope it’s not the latter!
I
don’t think that any of us want to deliberately disappoint God. But we
do get caught up in the temptations of the devil and this world…and we
tend to cut corners in our walk with God – and hope that He will
overlook this. Let’s not play that game! Let’s give God our very best
efforts every single day. Let’s honor God and His blessings over us by
serving wholeheartedly and going the second mile. The Bible says that
our bodies are God’s “houses”…that we are His vessels on this earth.
What sort of “housekeeper” are you these days?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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