My Dirty Window

The window in my kitchen faces the east. I get the morning sun and I just love it. Over the winter months though, the window has gotten dusty and spotty.  For weeks now it's been driving me crazy. When the sun shines on it in the morning I can see how awful it is. Every morning I see it and every morning I tell myself, I need to do something about it. Every morning as the sun moves to a different
side of the house, I try to forget about it. I was thinking this morning how really annoying this whole process is and today needs to be the day that I do something about it!

Then I got to thinking about my own heart. As I read the Bible and the light of God’s Word shines in and reveals the dirty and spotted places, I find myself not wanting to ignore the dirty places like I have done with my kitchen window.

The Bible says in James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Just acknowledging I need to change is not going to change me. Just like knowing the window needs to be cleaned is not going to get the window clean. I have to get out there and do what is necessary to clean it. It's my choice. I can leave the window as it is and get annoyed every morning until the sun moves or I can ask for help to clean it. The same is true for my heart. I can get annoyed every time God reveals sin in my heart, or I can cry out to Him for help to change me.

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

Pretending the window is clean when the sun isn't shining on it… almost sounds crazy. Pretending my heart is ok when it is not, is far worse. I am deceiving my own self. That is scary to me.