Shining Perspective

Success! We’re moved.  We are now living each day sifting through a sea of boxes.  My daily motto has become: “adopt a spirit of adventure and go on a treasure hunt!”  Seven years is long enough to collect more stuff than I ever imagined I would own.  I’ve been surprised to discover the things that I could find sentimental value in. (And I’m astonished at what my husband and son are attached to.)  However, I haven’t become attached to a building, a house, or an apartment.  I moved several times as a child and as an adult, I’ve moved more times than I want to count.  I spent the day cleaning this apartment for the last time and realized that somehow, I got attached to my little home.

Maybe it’s because it was the first apartment that I had for an extended amount of time.  So many memories were made in seven years, some good and many that I didn’t want to remember.  As I spent the day in solitude, (something I don’t get a chance to do very often) I scrubbed and vacuumed as the reel of memories played back in my mind.  We moved there just after the first year of our marriage.  My son was conceived there.  His first steps were taken there; His first words were spoken there. He got his first tooth and five years later, he lost his first tooth there.

Of course, there are plenty of bad memories too.  Memories plagued with anger, immoral living, bad choices and big mistakes.  Holes left in the walls have their own stories where a spirit of rage once reigned, and the presence of old wounds that gave birth to broken hearts still quietly lingers.

Why did I get attached to this apartment?  The one memory that will stand out, the one reason this apartment will always hold a special place in my heart is because it is where I gave my life to Jesus Christ.  I relived so many moments.  Seven years of memories, but none compare to that moment, two years ago, when I surrendered my life and opened my heart to Jesus.  I will miss that spot where I prayed a million prayers and shed a million tears.

While scrubbing the tile floor for the last time I realized that I’ve left my mark on this apartment.  The grout was dirty no matter how many times I ran that brush across it.  It seemed as though it would never come clean; it was stained.  I could continue to try and clean it, and yet my dirt remained.

The same holds true with sin.  It doesn’t matter what we try to do. Sin remains. It is only by the blood of Jesus that we are saved.  It is only by the blood of Jesus that we are cleansed.  “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” ~Leviticus 17:11  “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” ~Hebrews 9:22

It was clear that I could not get that floor to come perfectly clean, just as I cannot make myself perfectly clean.  Since moving to my new home I’ve found myself giving Satan access again.  I’ve allowed him a foothold in my life and I seem to walk in victory but only temporarily.  Then I slip back into the same trap again and again.  But my precious Jesus reminded me that I am covered by His blood and I have been made righteous in Him.  Jesus’ blood doesn’t cleanse me temporarily; it cleanses me once for all.  I haven’t been forgiven for one sin, but all sin past, present and future.  “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” ~Hebrews 9:14

The amazing thing is I can’t do anything to earn forgiveness.  I can’t do anything to make myself clean.  I am free of guilt for every bad memory that was made in that apartment.  All the mistakes and all the wrongs of my life from the beginning and even the mistakes I will make in the future have been covered by the blood of Jesus. Oh, the power of the blood of Jesus.  Not only does Jesus’ blood do all of that, but it has also made it possible for us to have a relationship, a personal and intimate communion with God.  “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” ~1 John 1:7  “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” ~Ephesians 2:13

Maybe you find yourself allowing sin in your life.  Maybe you’ve just made some mistakes and find yourself far from God.  There is nothing you can do, no sin too great, no mistake too big, no blemish on your record, no stain too horrendous that the blood of Jesus cannot wash away and cleanse completely.