“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
Do you remember Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout? I do. She would not take the garbage out! I look at our trash cans, brimming to overflowing wondering when was the last time someone took them out? Taken from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, this poem is about a girl who refused to take the garbage out. I am that girl!
As much as our garbage stinks, spilling heaps of rotting rubbish on the floor, I have always disliked taking it out. You would think that ridding your house of trash would be something you’d want to do everyday. I remember Kim Newlen did that almost compulsively. She took the garbage out every single day. What a great habit to get into. So why do I let it pile up so much that I can’t even put the lid on it or it is literally spilling out onto the floor?
As I looked at my full garbage can it made me think about my heart. What kind of garbage am I refusing to take out? Our pastor’s sermon this week was on being quick to say “I’m sorry”, taking responsibility for our actions before it affects those around us negatively. Yet, it is so easy to hold a grudge, refuse to admit my faults, and quite frankly let that garbage pile up so high – before I know it, my heart, attitude and life are pretty sour and stinky. And this doesn’t just affect me, it spills out to those I love most.
My family is waiting for me to go to the dump – literally. The truck is loaded and it’s time to haul off our waste. Thankfully, when we go to the cross we can dump our load of sin, shame and regrets at the feet of Jesus and they are gone forever! He cleanses us of all our stinky garbage.
Zechariah 13:1-3 says, “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” That day has already come. We remember it as Good Friday and that fountain is filled with the blood of Christ.
Won’t you go to the cross with me and let the cleansing blood of Jesus wash away your sins? It’s time to go to the dump!