Garbage Collection

I saw a vivid picture lesson this morning when we came home from running errands. There, on another block, was the Trash Truck. Soon it would reach our house and take away what we had put in it—the stinky garbage. That’s when the thought struck me. Just as we put out our physical household garbage, are we getting rid of other garbage in our lives?

It’s all too common for everyone, believers included, to let old thoughts, old hurts, OLD things clutter our minds, our emotions, and yes, even affect our spiritual lives. Ephesians 4:22-23, NLT says: “²²throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”

As born-again believers, walking in the fulness of His Love and Grace, we should daily be renewing our mind, our thoughts, and our attitudes. We don’t have to think the same things we used to think. Most of the time they lead us into contrary-to-the-Gospel thinking. When we think on the finished work of Jesus, we are pulled out of destructive thinking. We aren’t centering on the hurts and thoughts that bombarded us before.

That’s one reason we stress the importance of daily renewing our minds and hearts in Jesus’ finished work on the Cross. We aren’t being pulled back into having to keep religious laws and rules in order to be justified or accepted. We’re already accepted in the beloved. But our minds must be renewed to our new reality as a believer.

The good news is you don’t have to wait an entire week before you can get rid of the garbage. You can do it daily as the Holy Spirit prompts you. Why carry around stinky, infested garbage? We are to be a sweet smelling fragrance to others. We’re not passing on our trash to others but passing on the sweet smell of God’s love and His marvelous grace.

The more you walk in the fulness of what Jesus has already done for you, the more His fragrance will invite others to see how good He is. Pretty soon there’ll be a garbage truck at their house, emptying out what clutters their life.

So, next time you see a garbage truck in your neighborhood, be reminded of renewing yourself in the finished work of Jesus, and walking in His grace and acceptance, totally loved and favored by Him.