Recently, a PresbyCan Devotional got me thinking about how a pile of dirty laundry could be an analogy for our sin.

Isaiah 64:6 – All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (NIV)

Sin repeatedly dirties our lives — something that we are uncomfortable acknowledging — we wish it would just go away. We don't want to think about our sin, so we carry it with justification and denial, struggling and pretending that it doesn't need to be dealt with.

Similarly, my husband has what we call "the suit", a workwear coverall that he uses to shingle a roof, crawl under the deck, transplant trees, or dig out a foundation. Instead of getting it washed, he takes the suit off after the job is completed, rolls it into a ball, and stuffs it in the shed. I search for it because I want to wash it. He gives me excuses: "It's just going to get dirty again", or "It's going to wreck the washer." But it's so easy for me to clean, and it brings me joy!

What if Christ wants to deal with our sin that way? He eagerly waits for us to come back to Him, as seen in the parable of the lost son. After all, it was for the very purpose of giving His life for the forgiveness of our sin that He came. And doing that brings Him joy!

Hebrews 12:2b – For the joy set before him [he] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NIV)

Friends, let us not deprive our Saviour of the joy of forgiving our sin. Let's not make excuses, remembering that He wants to do this for us and that we can share in the joy of our spiritual laundry day! Pray with me:

Prayer: Lord, may I eagerly come to You with the messiness of my life. Help me to see those areas where I roll my sin into a ball and stuff it somewhere that I don't have to deal with it. Open my ears and my heart so that I can turn and be healed. Amen.

What followed were twists and turns to my mostly un-Christian walk. I tried to hold things together and do what is right. There was a period in my life when I really struggled. A personal relationship was completely fractured, my grade-three child was struggling in school, and my mom was dying with pancreatic cancer. I couldn't fix these things, and I was weary, burdened, and burnt out. I remember getting on my knees next to my bed and praying one night, "I don't even know what to believe, or how much of this is true, but You said, 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.'" (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)

My prayer had only the tiniest amount of faith in it — really, I didn't think that anything would change. The next morning, however, a weight had been lifted, a calm assurance had come over me, and I started a deeper relationship with Christ.

Skip forward now, 20-plus years, to a new set of issues that include retirement, aging, and health. My spiritual life once again began to flounder — I was feeling drained. I heard about an Alpha course, which I took, and, once again, God blew me away, this time with the Holy Spirit freshly indwelling my life in power. I had not realized how much I had relied on myself to do what is right under my own steam — unsuccessfully.

Do you hear that still small voice nudging you to take a step closer to Him? We are about to start a new year — many of us look forward with hope that things will get better. We can fill our busy lives to overflowing with good things, but when we try to do life under our own steam, we are left feeling drained. Have you experienced the inner peace that He promised, made possible through the Holy Spirit?

Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

2 Timothy 1:14 – Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (NIV)

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your Son, Who came that we might have eternal life and have it to the fullest. Thank You for forgiving our sin and for giving us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Counsellor Who can breathe new life into us. Open our eyes, Lord, and give us the strength to do Your will. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.