To compensate for my lack of interest and natural ability to find cobwebs, I have designed a cleaning schedule. I have things I do daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. Well, things I'm supposed to do, anyway. This schedule isn't a reflection of my heart to clean but my lack thereof - it's an indicator that cleaning is truly a chore for me. So more gets done than if I didn't have my schedule, but rarely does everything on the schedule get accomplished.
Currently I'm in the process of revamping my schedule. I'm trying to do my weekly cleaning in a different way or on a different day of the week, to make it easier to accomplish other, higher priority goals in my life. I'm finding this is more of a challenge than I thought. I'm stuck in my cleaning "habits" and find it hard to shift out of my system.
Tonight, I had to clean more than usual for a Thursday - a lot more. We are expecting weekend guests, and they'll be here before I'm off work tomorrow. So, I sat folding clothes and reflecting on the challenge cleaning has always been for me. And I realized that it really reflects spiritual tendencies that are easy to fall into.
It's easy to set up a spiritual "cleaning" schedule. On Sundays, we go to church and confess. The rest of the week, we dabble at religion. Maybe we touch this or that area, but overall, we leave it to the scheduled day for Jesus. We get stuck in a life-rut and wonder what happened, when the problem is that all along our hearts aren't in it.
It can happen in ministry too. "Every time I lead a Bible study I ...." "Here are the exact steps to disciple someone." "Outreach? Sure, I've done a hundred of them. We'll throw something together the week before, it'll be okay." We just assume that the way we approach it is the only way God will work, and soon our hearts aren't even in it.
So God throws wrenches into our plans, or knocks us off course - because He wants to fully engage us. He wants our hearts in it. He wants us to allow Him to scrub the walls on Monday night, for heaven's sake!
So, let Him shake things up a bit. He's just cleaning house, moving furniture around. He'll have it ready for the work He needs to use it for. Just don't get too comfortable there. Because soon He'll be at it again. Because He knows what it took me forever to learn about housecleaning: if something just sits unused, it will eventually get covered in dust.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. (John 15:2-3)
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