The Mystery & Minstrel: Musings on God and Life

Spring-Cleaning

By Susanne Scheppmann

Key Verse:

Mark 7:14-15, “Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.  Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.'” (NIV) 

Devotion:

Dust bunnies run under the bed.  Spidery cobwebs dangle from the ceiling.  Handprints point the way to the bedrooms.  Filmy windows play hide and seek with the bright sunshine.

Yes, it’s time for spring-cleaning.  When the air warms and the sun shines brightly, it puts me in the mood to clean my home.  I heave furniture so I can vacuum underneath.  I teeter on a ladder as I stretch to remove telltale signs of fall and winter from my home.  Most of the time I abide by the slogan, “A tidy but comfortably cluttered home is good enough for me.”  However, I do like spring-cleaning.

Do you know that spring-cleaning began thousands of years ago in the Middle East?  It all started when God issued the decree to the Hebrews to eat the Passover meal and celebrate it for the generations to come.  One of the requirements in commemorating Passover was to remove any type of yeast or leaven from their homes.  The Jewish Book of Why explains, “Why must the Jewish home be scoured clean before the Passover holiday?  To find leaven in a home after the holiday has begun is considered a serious breach of Jewish law.  From biblical times onward, the law had required that every bit of leavened bread and all materials and products associated with it (that is, leaven) be removed from the house before Passover so that it will not even be seen during the holiday.”  

So what’s the big deal with yeast?  In the New Testament, we are told that yeast represents various types of sin.  Many times Jesus warned His disciples, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees.”  He didn’t want the disciples to be influenced by the cold legalism of the religious teachers.  The Apostle Paul elaborated on yeast a bit more.  He wrote, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are.  For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NIV).  Paul points out just what the key verse for today indicates.  It’s the junk inside of us that makes us unclean, not what’s on the outside.

Even as I scrub my house, I need to consider spring-cleaning my soul.  Should I remove a few sullied attitudes?   Do I need to spit shine my life with sincerity and truth? 

Do you recall that even Peter needed to be wiped down a bit?  Before they celebrated the Passover feast, Jesus began to wash the disciples feet.  Peter hesitated, not wanting Jesus to do it.  However, Jesus insisted that Peter needed a little sprucing up. Here is how the Apostle John tells the story:

    He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 

    Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 

    "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."

    Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." 

    "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

    Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean (John 13:6-10 NIV).

So, yes!  If Peter needed to be cleaned-up, I know I do too.  Just as my home gathers dust, dirt and smudges over time, so does my soul.  I need to get the tarnish of yeasty sinful attitudes out and allow God to polish me up to shine for His Kingdom.  Ephesians 5:26 even tells me what type of polish to use, “Cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.”  (NIV)

On that note, I think I will quit vacuuming the drapes.  Spring-cleaning my soul sounds much more compelling.  I am going to enjoy the warmth of this beautiful spring day.  I’m off to the backyard with my Bible in hand!  

Prayer: 

Lord Jesus, I thank you for the power of Your Word.  As I study its truth, reveal to me the attitudes, thoughts and behaviors that You desire to cleanse in me.  Polish me to shine for Your Kingdom.  In Your Precious Name, Amen.

Application steps:

Stroll through your house and decide what needs spring-cleaning.  Closets?  Drawers?  Make a list of what you would like to accomplish in your home.  Decide to tackle one project a week in your home. 

Now take a spiritual inventory.  What needs to be cleansed within you?  Bitterness?  Unforgiveness?  Lack of love?  Using your Bible’s concordance look up verses to memorize that will aid in your spiritual spring-cleaning.

Refection points:

Do I pick-up my home daily?

Do I read my Bible everyday?

How much priority do I place on spiritual housekeeping?

What can I do to incorporate more time in God’s Word throughout the week?

Power verses:

1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” (NIV)

Luke 11:39, “Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.” (NIV)

Leviticus 10:10, “You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean.” (NIV)

Galatians 5:22-26, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (NIV)

© 2006 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.