Repentance and the bathroom theory.

So this morning as I was getting ready for church, I paused and thought to myself, "My bathroom is totally gross." And as I thought this, I tried to think of possible reasons why it had become so disgusting. I share it with my 7 year old brother? Yeah, that doesn't help much. I'm rarely home? True. But really, when you think about it, there's no excuse. It's gross because it's a bathroom, yeah, but it's my own fault for not cleaning it. My brother could help me out from time to time, but as the oldest (especially being 18, that's a good age gap) I'm supposed to be the one to take responsibility for it. It was my bathroom before it was ours. This made me think about my relationship with God. Isn't it funny how when we mess up, we always seem to try to find reasons for why we messed up? In other words, finding excuses to try and justify our sins? I'm guilty of this myself. A lot of times we don't even realize just how dirty we are until we just stop and stand back, and take a minute to really examine ourselves and what we've done. Sometimes it may be okay, but other times we may think, "Wow, I really let this place go." And we feel gross, because we are. We just are. As humans, we sin. As bathrooms, they get dirty. They're bathrooms, that's just what they do. As humans, sinning is just what happens no matter how hard we try to be perfect. But that doesn't mean we should just give up. Jesus died so that we could someday be perfect, when we're called home. And a lot of people take that for granted. So as Christians we need to remember to step back and think about what we've done. Have our actions stood up for, or misrepresented Christ? When people see us, do they think we are good examples or do they think, "Well, if that's what being a Christian is..."

This whole thought process made me realize that I should repent on a daily basis. And with sincerity. That I shouldn't be like, "I'm sorry God" then go to sleep without feeling satisfied in the effectiveness of my prayer. No matter how exhausted I may feel, or how exhausted I really am, no matter how much I don't feel like it... I need to get over that. Because being a Christian isn't about what you feel, it's about who you serve. I'm sure the day Jesus died, he didn't particularly feel like dying. But he did it anyway because he loves us. He died so that we can repent. So why don't we? He loves us so much and wants us to come to him. If we don't come to him, what will he do for us? We can't expect our moms to clean our bathrooms anymore. We're growing up, we need to do it ourselves. And once we clean the bathroom, we need to keep it that way. of course we'll miss a few spots, but we're human. And God honors the efforts and sacrifices we make. But for those sacrifices to be honored, we actually have to perform them. With a genuine spirit and a willing heart.

[ ] Sara