Unlock All the Doors
If you compare your life to a house, you may have invited Jesus in, but each of us keeps one or more rooms locked and the key hidden so Jesus can't get in to straighten up. In these rooms we hide our secret pleasures that we know Jesus would disapprove of. Maybe it's unforgiveness of someone who did us wrong. Maybe it's a temper with a short fuse. Or a misuse of (or an addiction to) drugs, alcohol, food, pornography, cigarettes, TV, video games, social media, or (?). Maybe it's excuses for not going to church or reading the Bible or praying. Maybe it's sex outside of marriage ("but we're in love" is not a good enough excuse). Maybe it's getting a “buzz” or worse at parties. Whatever it is, if Jesus asked us why we still do it, we'd have to admit it's because it gives us pleasure that we don't think Jesus could give us if we obeyed him completely.
So the question is, does the sin you hide from Jesus bring you true, abiding joy? Does it bless you and others? Does it satisfy the Threefold Commitment? Would this act:
honor the Father's name
further His kingdom (His rule in your life), and
be in obedience to His will?
If not, are you willing to hand the key over to Jesus? And if you are, what are you willing to do differently this time to keep from taking the key back and locking Jesus out again?
This is your assignment, should you choose to accept it. Use the link below to download the pdf of the classic My Heart, Christ’s Home, a little pamphlet written by Robert Boyd Munger, one of my seminary professors. This allegory of discipleship imagines your heart as a house, as I did above. Jesus comes to live there and moves from room to room examining what he will need to change…if you let him. This challenging meditation will help you give Christ control over all your life. Of course, it won’t be easy. But, as they say, the benefits are out of this world.
