Spring Cleaning in the Heart

Scripture Reading: 1st Thessalonians 5:12-28

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body, be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

--1st Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV)

My husband and I did our spring cleaning over the weekend. We got out all the supplies, and even purchased a handy new stick-mop of sorts with a pivoting head to get into those nooks and crannies in the bathrooms. We spent hours sorting, organizing, vacuuming, dusting and disinfecting. The hard work paid off, and we are enjoying the peace of mind that comes from having a neat and organized home.

The idea of spring cleaning has bearing on our spiritual lives as well as our home-life. In order that we can experience peace in our relationship with God, we need to be sanctified through and through. This means that we need to let the Holy Spirit work in us to clean out our hearts. In doing so, our attitudes and hearts are renewed.

We sometimes forget that God has designed us in such a way that our spirit, soul, and body are interconnected. As Dr. Neil T. Anderson points on in his book The Bondage Breaker, we must not separate our spiritual and physical selves. We can't clean or disinfect one and disregard the other. If we do, then we're not truly sanctified through and through.

God can make us blameless and pure. He is faithful to clean us up by the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. This is how we can find peace.

Reflecting Pool:

What areas of your life could use some "spring cleaning?"

Do you have the peace that comes from being sanctified or cleaned up?