"These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.
Repeat them to your children.
Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up."
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Sometimes explaining the things of God to my kids puts in on a level even my stubborn heart can appreciate. It went something like this.......
The sin in our lives is a lot like garbage. We can all picture the ugly and dirty nature of that. We don't like to see it so we put it in bags, in cans and then as it piles up we tie it off and put it outside in another can hidden from sight. We buy screens to make our trash cans look more concealed, we purchase fancy trash cans for inside our house and many of us pay to have someone take our trash away.
At some point the trash has to go to the curb.
Someone has to come and pick it up.
The empty can needs to be put away so the process can start all over agian.
"Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love;
according to Your abundant compassion, blot our my rebellion.
Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.
For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me."
Psalm 51: 1-3
Our sin piles up. We live in a fallen world for scripture says, "all have fallen short of the glory of God" and are in desperate need of a savior. In a way we need the garbage taken out and in an even more impossible way we need someone to haul if off to the dump.
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:12
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us ours sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1John 1:9
"The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy." Proverbs 28:13
God is ALWAYS ready and willing to come by and remove the garbage from your heart, but we have the responsibilty to put it out at the curb for collection by means of confession.
The days of Lent are drawing to an end and Easter is in sight, but the days of confession never come to a close as long as we are here. Our need for forgiveness continues. But His willingness likewise is without end!
Gotta run! I hear the trash truck coming and I have some things I need to haul out to the curb!
