Exposed

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:5)

Gene and I are in the process of remodeling our kitchen. He loathes the dirt, clutter, and disorganization. Of course, all that is part of the process. You just cannot avoid the mess. Knowing the inconvenience is part of the package, we’re dealing with it just like everyone else who has gone through the process.

I also knew, when they moved the large appliances, we’d face an “angry,” grime-covered dust bunny or two. But I didn’t expect to find the cobwebs lacing the walls when they removed the cupboards.

The crud gave me pause, at least in the photo shooting. I’ve been taking pictures of the process to share on Facebook (yeah, just like everyone else). However, I thought I’d clean before snapping any shots of the bear wall and the area behind the stove. I didn’t want anyone to see my dirt.

I’m the same way with my flaws … my sins. I don’t want anyone to know, to see how painfully short I fall from God’s glory. I want to keep my spiritual “cupboards” in place. Soul remodeling exposes the angry, grime-covered dust bunnies within me that I don’t want to face. I don’t want anyone else to know about. And I especially want to hide them from God.

But that’s ridiculous. God already knows what’s lurking deep within my heart. He’s the one urging me to allow Him to cleanse and remodel me from the inside out. What is exposed, God covers with Jesus’ righteousness. He promises, everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light (Ephesians 5:13).

Therefore, I have nothing to fear. I only need to cry out to the Lord as did the Psalmist: Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7).

How about you? How has God been remodeling you into the image of Christ?

See you in a twinkling,

Brenda K. Hendricks