Each morning I have a routine, as I’m sure you do too. Most of it consists of getting rid of something yucky. Really…the drool that seeped onto you face while you were sleeping, the offensive taste in your mouth, and let’s be even more real…your bladder is probably full. All this yuck must be removed. So, the facial soap and the toothpaste and mouthwash are all examples of a refreshing way to start your day.
I know, I know, I get a little crazy sometimes with my biblical and real life examples, but you can relate to it can’t you?
Well, think about all that “morning yuck” as the sin in your life. When you become a Christian, you are taught to leave your sin behind and stop living the way you lived before. Listen to what God’s word tells us in Ephesians 4:20-24,
“But that way of life is nothing like what you learned when you came to know Christ. 21 I know that you heard about Him, and in Him you were taught the truth. Yes, the truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught to leave your old self. This means that you must stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self gets worse and worse, because people are fooled by the evil they want to do. 23 You must be made new in your hearts and in your thinking. 24 Be that new person who was made to be like God, truly good and pleasing to him.”
God knows we are human and that we live in a sinful world, and that “yuck” wants to creep back in our lives. But, like The Word says, don’t be fooled. Just like the Message translations plainly puts it: “Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces His character in you.”
So the next time you wash your face and brush your teeth, oh yeah, and go to empty your bladder, think about excavating all the sin in your life too and allow God to renew you from the inside-out throughout each day. Permit God to reproduce His character in you…A God-fashioned life kind of character.
Blessings to you.
October 5, “Walking in the Word”