Clean Up Time!

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some are for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." 2 Timothy 2:20-21

The Apostle Paul gives a parallel of our lives being like a house. There are things in a house that are useful and things in our house that are just junk. Everybody has a junk drawer. For a while in my house we had a junk room (my office). Often times this is what our garages become, just place to store extra junk. (At least that happened to me when we had a garage) The time comes when we must do some serious cleaning to make room for more desirable objects. I am always amazed by how much relief I feel when I clean out an old closet, and how little time it actually takes. That brings me to the question, "Why do I avoid cleaning out a closet like the plague." I think that my most common thought is, "There might be stuff in there that I need to use in the future." When it comes to our spiritual life, when we do "clean up" God will fill up the space with that which is more desirable. He will give me new vision, fresh power from His Spirit and His resources in ways that I wasn't previously experiencing. This requires some work on my part. Not in a legalistic religious way, but in a response of obedience to His command. What in my life today needs to be removed to make room for what God wants to do tomorrow? What junk do I need to put in a trash bag and take to the curb? I love Paul's phrase, we will become useful to the Master, "prepared to do any good work!" May I be found prepared to do any good work.