The other day I was giving myself a pat on the back for pulling our house together after a busy weekend, when suddenly the sun came through the window at a perfect angle and lit up the most horrifyingly huge cobweb I have ever seen! All of a sudden, the Clean House Award I was going to give myself disintegrated! Didn’t I just wipe down that area a little while ago? How can a tiny spider construct such a magnificent piece of work in such a short time? How is that possible?
Well, in that moment I became much more aware of how sneaky cobwebs are and how quickly those tiny rascals can rebuild! Amazing! The process seems to never be finished, but I am determined to stay on top of them.
Well then, while I was attacking the rest of the spider masterpieces I discovered in our house, it occurred to me that there is a lot of similarity between what the sun brought to my eyes with those crazy cobwebs, and what the SON, Jesus does to the cobwebs in my heart. When I choose to walk into the light of His Word, and I learn from the perfect example of His life, He shines on the places I have swept under the rug and conveniently ignored; my rotten attitudes, selfish reactions, actions, and hidden sins. Daily life creates a deceptively easy way for me to hide my cobwebs with busyness, distractions, and my self-imposed demands. And of course, if I don’t watch it, the ever-burgeoning monster – pride is always ready and waiting to build a wall around my ability to see the sin in my life!
But, I have to be honest and admit that it can be downright scary to walk into the light of God’s Word, and allow my heart to go through a good Spring cleaning. God’s Word even gives me a heads up on its power to change me in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”
Rebuking? Yikes! Let’s face it, rebuking is just a nice way of saying that God will have no problem showing me where I have cobwebs! But, His amazing grace always carries me through the “Spring Cleaning” process and I am comforted by the fact that He does not want me to stay the same. And now with Easter fast approaching, I am reminded once again how significant that empty tomb is to me! And to all believers!
Thank God for Easter because we cannot stay cobweb free on our own! Jesus’ victory over death and sin on the cross, and the empty tomb on Easter morning signify that we no longer have to bear the punishment for having all those nasty cobwebs. In our thankfulness for what Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection, and the sacrifice God made for us, we now have the joy of “Spring cleaning” as our response, and the result is a much closer relationship with our heavenly Father. And I know for me, it’s a whole lot easier to “reflect” the SON to others if nothing else is blocking the light of Him.
Although I will never have a completely cobweb free heart until I get to heaven, I do have peace remembering those precious words Jesus spoke on the cross, “It is finished.” And, I rest assured knowing God sees all of me through the perfectly “cobweb free” heart of the one who gave His life for me, Jesus.
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
