Even the Cheese - Saturday May 30, 2015
But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV
It was an exciting night at the hotel. A group of revelers had decided to have a good ol' time, literally trashing their room as they partied into the night. The partying came to an end, and they sneaked off the next day, leaving their mess behind. That's when the staff (and our son in housekeeping) was really impacted. Someone had to clean up the mess, and it wasn't going to be those who made it.
All sorts of trash littered the room: sunflower seed shells, candle wax on the rug, bread slices on the floor. But the most baffling was the slice of sandwich cheese that had been literally thrown and smeared onto the wall! Lots of "elbow grease" was applied to cleaning up the mess, but at last, the room was finished, transformed from its previous disorder.
Later after hearing this story I got to thinking that that room and those folks were an awful lot like me and some messes that I have made in my life."
This was true, especially in the days of my youth before I truly began following Jesus. I made choices-some foolish and silly, others just all-around bad-that trashed my life. And in it all I carelessly went on my way, disregarding the mess that trailed behind me.
Fortunately, Jesus became my clean-up crew. He graciously opened my eyes up to my awful state, generously forgave me of it all, and through His payment on the cross, scrubbed away the filth, yes, even down to the "cheese on the wall!" I needed a good scrub!
Submitted by:
Dawn Bovenmyer
Stonebrook Community Church
Ames, Iowa
One-Year Reading Plan:
2 Samuel 15:23-16:23
John 18:25-19:22
Psalms 119:113-128
Proverbs 16:10-11
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