The Search

Today we are having company over for my brother's birthday. I am full of joy for how God has worked in him and his family over the last year. I love him and can't wait to see what the next year will bring for him. :) The picture above is him and my nephew with their matching hair do!

Steven and Stephani, on their way to California.

Steven and Serene at the petting zoo a couple years ago.

Steven with his MJ cupcake at Sky's birthday party! The best picture I have of him.

Happy Birthday Steven!

It is always fun and exciting when birthdays come in my family. My mom loves to make birthdays special, and I have many fond memories of cakes, parties, or just a special card or my siblings and I on our birthdays. However, as an adult, I now realize why my parents seemed so stressed right before our parties. When you have company, the house must be clean!

Today, I rushed home from church because I didn't finish cleaning a few things last night, and I wanted my bedroom and bathroom to be company-ready. It reminded me of dorm cleanings in school. At the Bible college, we are required to keep our rooms clean. In order to make sure this happens, every week there is an inspection. On Wednesdays, you will find otherwise normal and happy college students, down on the ground, scrubbing like their lives depended on it hoping that the inspection can be held off until they can remove the mold from the shower tile grout. They make certain that they have done their very best to rid their rooms of dirt, dust, mold, or any other thing that does not belong.

Throughout the week, most students keep their beds made and their belongings tidy. The trash is emptied, and the floors are mostly clear. Food is kept out of the room, and shoes are stowed under the beds or in the closet. But on Wednesdays, there is an inspection, and so the students make sure that there is nothing to be held against them.

This is how I feel as I approach Communion. I live my Christian life before God fairly clean. I try to seek Him in everything, and though I sin, I am repentant and continuing to serve Him. However, Communion is an opportunity for me to inspect myself, to seek out anything that I might have missed. But unlike my dorm inspections, God is not an inspector who comes in after I have cleaned to punish me for what I missed. He comes along side of me to help me clear it away. In fact, He just shows me what I've missed, asks me if I want to get rid of it, and then clears it out Himself. Although I may feel ashamed of my proverbial mold in the grout of my heart or the dust in the corner of my mind, I can know that Christ already took the punishment of that sin.

Therefore, I should be earnestly seeking out any concealed sin all the time, and not dreading this heart inspection. I should keep my spirit company-ready. I should remember that my body is the temple of the Lord. It is not what goes in that matters, but what is inside that will likely spill out. I pray that don't cough up the dust of sin, but that my mouth would overflow with words of praise.

I am on a search this week. And I challenge you to join me.

Lord, search me and know me. Change me from the inside out so that others may see You in me, and know that You are God.

Amen.