John 2:24-25 AMPC
But Jesus did not trust Himself to them, because He knew them; [25] And He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning them, for He Himself knew what was in human nature - He could read men's hearts.
Yesterday was bin collection day. As I walked up the road, observing the green bins, all full of non recyclable rubbish, some had numbers painted on them, some were just blank and grubby, but some had stickers of flowers or butterflies on them in camouflage.
It was as if to beautify the un-beautifiable (if that's a word).
All those bins were full of rubbish in varying degrees - no matter how someone had tried to disguise it. You'd only have to lift the lid and look inside.
Then I thought of the human heart. Without Jesus, each one of us is like those bins - full of the rubbish that sin dumps into our lives.
We can try to dress it up - we may even look ornate on the outside, but Jesus sees our hearts. He knows what we are really like inside.
Indeed, He was the most scathing towards the religious leaders of His day:
Matthew 23:27 AMPC
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you are like tombs that have been whitewashed, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and everything impure.
Religion can't help to change our hearts, only Jesus can take away our rubbish and give us a new clean heart.
Like it says of Him in Isaiah 61:
He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favour has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.
I recently heard of someone who is going to shut herself away for a year in a Buddhist retreat attempting become pure and achieve enlightenment. So focused is she that she doesn't want to know if her husband dies in the interim or if her children are in trouble. How is that spiritual? Isn't it a high form of selfishness?
How sad!
It is as futile as decorating the rubbish bins with flowers. We cannot make ourselves pure, however much we want to or try.
Only Jesus can give us that new clean heart - actually, as a free gift, to those who realise just how badly they need it!
It's simple for us, but infinitely costly for Jesus. He gave His lifeblood so we could be "rubbish" free. He took our sins - our rubbish, if you like and removed it - as far as the east is from the west [Psalm 103:12].
BUT we have to "put our bins out" - we have to admit our sin and ask Jesus to remove it. If we leave our "bins" in the back garden of our consciousness - we will become more and more cluttered with the degradation of our lives without God.
Psalm 51:10 AMPC
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.
What a great way to start a year - with a brand new heart, cleansed by the blood of Jesus - may it be so for each and everyone of us.
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