Cleaning Up Our Mess

“But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”— Romans 3:21-24

“If you make a mess, you clean it up!”

These words have rung out in my house time and time again, especially as my children have morphed into teenagers. Despite their repetition, I often find wrappers, packaging, and dirty dishes waiting in the sink for “the maid.” (Me). I have another saying: “M is for Mom. Not Maid.”

Bottom line, it is not always easy to get people to clean up their messes. It is always nicer for someone to do it for us.

The other day I was in the grocery store and saw a red-haired woman with a bulging over-packed grocery cart. She lifted a large plastic carton of eggs from her cart and I don’t know if she didn’t have a good grip, but they fell down to the floor and smashed all over. Runny yolks dribbled into puddles, shells lay broken, the box lid flopped open onto the sticky mess. Quickly, two employees skittered over to the mess, reassuring her that they would clean it up. Pretty soon they had picked up the box and shells and brought a bright yellow caution sign which they angled over the pile of broken yolks. She was able to go merrily on her way to the checkout with just an apology as they went searching for a mop.

I have been in her shoes when I once dropped a jar of spaghetti sauce on the floor at the grocery store. An employee got to clean my mess up. What relief!

We as humans, in our sin, leave unfathomable messes around the world in our everyday lives. Whether it’s messes in the environment, government, industry, business, or communities, our path of destruction can often be evident. Broken relationships and messy family situations are the icing on the cake, and whether they are a little messy or a gargantuan mess, they are often hard to clean up.

Thankfully, we have a God who understands our penchant for messes and found a way to deliver us from them: His Son Jesus, who died on the cross for us. Our sin and mess and shame was cleaned up, once and for all, by Jesus’ obedience on the cross. Though we still make ghastly earthly messes of our lives and the lives of others, we are forgiven. We are cleansed, and we are restored. God enters the messes of life, loving us, lighting our way, and showing us how to work through them.

What mess are you dealing with or have recently dealt with in your life? Confess your mess to God, confess you need His help, and He will give you the greatest gift of all: a relationship with His Son, Who can walk through your mess and bring you to new life. That truly is Good News!

Prayer–“Gracious and loving God, thank you for providing a way for us to be restored into relationship with You by Jesus’ death on the cross. As we confess our messy lives to you, thank you for walking through them with us each and every day. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”