He makes us Shine

This morning while I was cleaning the bath tub, I was thinking. "Uh, how dirty is this bath tub?" I was using Comet to scrub away the soap rings and dirty film around the perimeter of the tub. I was really working up a sweat. I could see the dirt mix with the powered green bleach and I looked around I thought, "This is what my life must look like to God." Dirty, full of soap scum and a light brown film of dirt all around the outside perimeter. Dirty with sin- the film of the gossip I shouldn't have said, sin of how I treated my husband yesterday. Filmy stains of the dirty way I got angry with my son and spoke harshly to him.

"Ugh-is this ever going to get clean?" I thought.

As I finished scrubbing-I grabbed this huge white cup and turned on the faucet of water. I thought of the living water of God...it makes our lives clean.

And then it hit me- "This must be how God feels about us."

He allows us to get dirty. Then he scrubs us- he agitates us. He rubs us with the hard trials. He puts pressure on us to test our faith. He uses whatever He can to scrub out the filmy sin out of our lives.

When I finished scrubbing the entire tub, I was almost excited to see the final end product. I filled up the white cup and I began to rinse the tub. Gone were the soap scum stains. Gone were the light brown dirt rings. All that remained was a shiny new surface- it was gleaming. I was pleased. And I am sure when we are faithful to God to confess the sin in our lives --and repent, or turn from it He makes us shine- for His Glory.

God continues to look for the stains, the light brown water rings and yes, even the hardened dark rusty stains. I got the Comet out and scrubbed the areas I missed. I think God does this too- he allows the same kinds of trials until we surrender to Him. The dirt finally gives way to the Comet. And we too, can give way to Christ. I believe God is more pleased to get the hardened rusty stains out just like He is more pleased when we surrender the things in our lives that keep us from knowing Him.

Thanks for stopping by.