Throwing the Rug in the Wash

Ephesians 1:7-10
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,  he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

I’d put off cleaning the bathroom.

Confession—I don’t like to clean. Oh, I love the results, a shiny sink, sparkling toilet, and glistening shower, but I need motivation to make it happen.

After I gave Rosie May a bath, and I got as wet as she did, I scrubbed the shower, shined the mirror and overall cleaned the bathroom. We have a beautiful crocheted rug, in a hue of rainbow colors, a friend made for me. I tossed that one and the shower mat in the washer. After everything sparkled, I laid the rugs on the floor. The difference between the dirty rug I washed and the clean rug I pulled out of the dryer was remarkable. The colors shone and brightened the room.

At times in my life, my heart resembled the dirty rug. Muted colors replaced vibrancy. Like the dirt, sin darkened my joy and sucked the life out of me. Then Jesus took my sin, my filth, the garbage in my life, and washed it all away. He carried sin to the cross and died with it there, but the beautiful thing is, He rose on the third day and with open arms offers a way out of negativity, addiction, sorrow, suffering, mistakes—you get the idea. In Jesus, there is hope. Through Jesus, God wants to lavish His grace on us. His grace cleanses the soul and restores vibrancy with joy and hope.

I’m thankful Jesus loves me more than I understand.

Seek Jesus and ask Him to cleanse your soul.