The Church at Ephesus • Devotion 6
April 29, 2023 1:00 AM
House Cleaning of the Heart
Cathy Story
Have you ever heard the saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”? Do you ever feel like you relate to this saying? Sometimes I feel this way trying to clean my house with our four kids six-years-old and younger! It never ceases to amaze me that I can clean a room and turn around not five minutes later to that same room being right back to the crazy way it was. I am hoping you can relate and this is not just my house.
I have tried to work smarter and not harder as the years have gone on. I can recall times and days when the house did not always look like a disaster zone. I have then taken steps and worked to make changes to better help everyone in the house come together to find a better way of cleaning up. Some specific and labeled clear toy bins have made quite the difference in the kids being able to help clean up! While helpful, these solutions have not always negated the sometimes threat of getting rid of a toy that someone just will not clean up or put away.
At this point, you may be thinking, while this may sound like your house, how does it sound like the book of Revelation? As I read through Revelation 2:5-7, a command was being given to the church of Ephesus. They are being told, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
I related this to a time I remember when I knew that my house looked like clean. The church was then being told to repent, which means to turn from your ways. Think about turning from your insanity. What do you keep trying to do that is not bringing about the changes you would hope or like to see? We then see that they were told to do the works they did at first. This was me trying the cleaning strategies I really know are best, but finding ways to get the kids involved. Notice this one part, “If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand.” John looks at Jesus removing His presence from them. I would guess that many of us do not aim for this consequence to happen.
This command is not too different than what Jesus is looking for out of us. We can look at where we have fallen in life, we can repent from our sins and current ways of dishonoring God, and we can work to get back to the things that we know are beneficial for our relationship with Him. I would encourage you to take a few minutes from the messy house cleaning you have to do today and spend some time working on the cleaning in your heart that God is calling you to do.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”? Do you ever feel like you relate to this saying? Sometimes I feel this way trying to clean my house with our four kids six-years-old and younger! It never ceases to amaze me that I can clean a room and turn around not five minutes later to that same room being right back to the crazy way it was. I am hoping you can relate and this is not just my house.
I have tried to work smarter and not harder as the years have gone on. I can recall times and days when the house did not always look like a disaster zone. I have then taken steps and worked to make changes to better help everyone in the house come together to find a better way of cleaning up. Some specific and labeled clear toy bins have made quite the difference in the kids being able to help clean up! While helpful, these solutions have not always negated the sometimes threat of getting rid of a toy that someone just will not clean up or put away.
At this point, you may be thinking, while this may sound like your house, how does it sound like the book of Revelation? As I read through Revelation 2:5-7, a command was being given to the church of Ephesus. They are being told, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
I related this to a time I remember when I knew that my house looked like clean. The church was then being told to repent, which means to turn from your ways. Think about turning from your insanity. What do you keep trying to do that is not bringing about the changes you would hope or like to see? We then see that they were told to do the works they did at first. This was me trying the cleaning strategies I really know are best, but finding ways to get the kids involved. Notice this one part, “If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand.” John looks at Jesus removing His presence from them. I would guess that many of us do not aim for this consequence to happen.
This command is not too different than what Jesus is looking for out of us. We can look at where we have fallen in life, we can repent from our sins and current ways of dishonoring God, and we can work to get back to the things that we know are beneficial for our relationship with Him. I would encourage you to take a few minutes from the messy house cleaning you have to do today and spend some time working on the cleaning in your heart that God is calling you to do.