Recently I read
a blog post by Max Lucado about hoarders. He spoke of how hoarders save
everything. He then went on to compare these hoarders with those that “collect”
hard feelings toward others in their heart. This struck a chord with me, because
at one time, I too, was a “collector” of harsh feelings toward others in my own
heart. I allowed this to happen even though I am a Christian and have been for
many years.
I hope you
are horrified and appalled by that statement; in fact, this is the point where,
if you were driving, you would see barricades, flashing red and yellow lights
and signs reading, “Caution” and “Danger”. Or perhaps, a little less dramatically,
you may ask yourself, “Do I have this problem?”
If you’ve
ever watched the reality shows on television about hoarders, you may have
noticed they usually refer to themselves as collectors. The title of collector
seems an innocuous one; yet these people “collect” to their detriment. In
extreme cases their very lives are in danger and in all cases their lives would
benefit from a good cleansing; an extracting from the filth, rot, and decay
that surrounds them.
The same may
be said of those who collect hard feelings—they refuse to let go of past hurts
and wrongs until, before they know it, they find themselves in need of a good
cleansing. Upon careful examination of their hearts they find they are living with
rot and decay; they discover themselves in the midst of the foul refuse that accumulates
when harsh feelings are left to sit, soak, and stew until every part of their
life has been permeated.
Think of it like
this—when you hold something close to your heart and you nurture it, that thing
is going to grow. It will grow, whether it is good or it bad, because you have
sheltered it; you’ve feed it; and you’ve protected it. How could it not grow?
Just as
hoarders need help to clean their homes; those who hoard the hurts of the past
need Christ to cleanse their hearts. Just as when we first came to Christ, we
must come to Him with genuine, sincere confession and repentance asking for forgiveness.
We must also forgive others so that we may receive the forgiveness we so
desperately need ourselves.
Jesus said,
“So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that
your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the
altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer
your gift,” Matthew 5:23-24, HCSB, and in the model prayer, Jesus taught, “And
forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”, Matthew 6:12,
HCSB.
As
Christians, we need to make a habit of asking God to reveal hidden areas of sin
in our lives, and then confessing, repenting, and receiving forgiveness for
those sins. Then within the grace, mercy, and transforming power of the Holy
Spirit we are enabled to love others as Christ loves us—with a pure heart—sacrificially
and selflessly.
With a call
to holy living, the Apostle Peter puts it like this: “By obedience to the
truth, having purified yourselves for sincere love of the brothers, love one
another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again—not of
perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of
God,” 1 Peter 1:22-23, HCSB.
Amen and God
bless!
A Note of
Confession: After I had written this but before it had been posted I had an argument
with my brother for which I had to confess
and repent. I tell you this to say this one thing…I am an ordinary woman with
an ordinary life, but I write because I am compelled to share with you what the
Holy Spirit has revealed to me of our great, awesome, and extraordinary God! As
repeated so many times in the Bible, “The LORD is good and His mercy endures
forever.” This is true for ordinary me…and it can be true for you too…just by
inviting Christ into your heart…please do so today.
