Crumbs on the Counter

I have the most forgiving kitchen counter top. The dark colors hide almost everything. I love it. But one thing I discovered that I don't love is when I get down at eye level with the counter. Yuck! There you can see every bread crumb you missed. Every spot of dust in the corners. Every sticky spot that didn't get wiped up. It looks like I didn't bother to wash it at all. I will wipe it again and take another eye level inspection. Almost every time there will still be something I missed that needs another cleaning.

So it is with my spiritual life. When I just look over the surface of things - it looks pretty darn good. Camouflaged by the various designs of life. But when I bend down and humble myself and take a closer look. There are sticky spots that need tended to and washed with the Word. Dust in the corners that I neglected when I got too busy. Crumbs that seemed too tiny to bother with, but are still there even if you can't always see them.

And after I clean up the surface, if I get down on my knees and look down that's where I see what has piled up right there under my feet. Under the counter. The stuff that just gets dropped or even kicked under because I'm in too big of a hurry to deal with it right then. Just because I didn't deal with it or clean it up doesn't mean it isn't there. Some of it I can see from where I am standing. But some of it can only be seen when I get down low and bow my head down.

Our whole perspective on godliness and cleanliness changes when we change our posture. Standing upright - looks good. Bending down a bit - oh my! On my knees will be a completely different view.

My life - like my kitchen - I want to be clean and open for inspection. I don't want to just kick it under the counter or hide it in the corner. Because here's the deal, until or unless you clean up the dirt and the sticky stuff, it is still there. Denial of it or ignoring it does not make it go away. It will never self-clean. Neither will our spiritual lives. Jesus wants to wash us with His Word.

Who wants company when their kitchen is a disaster? No woman I know wants anyone to see it a mess. Who do we tend to stay away from when our lives are neglected? For me I stayed away from other Christians. I didn't want them to know.

Whether we deny it, ignore it or clean it up - is up to us and probably will depend on the level of our knees and eyes when we stop and take a good hard look.

Be blessed today.