Spring will be upon us quickly and along with it, annual spring cleaning. The perfect time to tidy up the house by cleaning top to bottom and getting rid of old clothes, boxes, toys, and many other things accumulated during the last year. Good cleaning is vital to maintaining a healthy and orderly home. Similarly, if we are to maintain good spiritual health–our spiritual home, if you will–cleaning is in order.
The Psalmist addressed spiritual house cleaning in Psalm 119:9–
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word.”
God’s Word has the power to cleanse (John 15:3), sanctify (John 17:17), and perfect us (2 Tim. 3:16-17). James wrote,
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls (Jas. 1:21).
When we humble ourselves and apply the instruction of scripture to our lives it will cleanse us to help us to produce “fruit unto holiness” (Rom. 6:22).
We often ask questions such as, “How do we remove sin from our lives?” “How do we overcome temptation?” How can we be holy as He is holy” (1 Pet. 1:16)? The answer is God’s Word. Too often the reason we struggle with sin is because we are not struggling enough to understand and apply scripture. Yet, it is the resource God has given us to cleanse our way (Ps. 119:9) and keep it clean (Ps. 119:11). Of necessity we should examine ourselves on a regular basis by looking into the mirror of God’s Word and inspecting our reflection closely (2 Cor. 13:5; Jas. 1:21-27). By doing so we will see blemishes and imperfections which need attention and be able to apply the cleansing power of scripture. This kind of spiritual house cleaning is vital to our spiritual health.