"For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Romans 8:13,14
Don't you love it when God lets you actually LIVE out a verse from the Bible? Don't you love it when He points out your "misdeeds of the body"? I want you to think I do, but I'd be lying.
I know He had a good chuckle about me last week - kind of a "Check this out!" when I meditated on the verse above during my quiet time.
"Misdeeds God?" I innocently asked. "Do I have misdeeds of the body? I'm pretty certain that with your help, I've cleared those things away." Hmmm?. I wondered. "What could that mean for my life?" I was stumped so I declared myself good to go - on to the next verse.
Then I went on a short vacation to visit some friends. While I was there, my landlord called and gave me the great news that two separate families wanted to see my house immediately so they could potentially rent it. I was apprehensive, but eager because if I rented it early, I wouldn't have to cover an extra month's rent when I moved to my new place. My first reaction was to call her and say, "No, I'm not ready." because I wasn't but after all, if I didn't let them in, how was it gonna happen? The house wasn't filthy, but we'd had a sleepover the night before we left, so it wasn't neatly organized and wouldn't show well. Then I thought about my pride. How could I pass up this opportunity? I just needed to get over caring what people I don't even know thought about me. It sounded good and Holy to me so I called her back and left a message:
"Go ahead and show them the house." I said. "Please apologize to them for the condition and I'm going to pray no one left underwear on the floor." I was clever and funny and humble. She texted back, "Don't worry, they'll understand, they have kids too!"
Whew. What a relief! I was really proud of myself. I didn't hear anything more from her, even though she promised to call and let me know how it went. "Oh well." I thought, "She's busy, I'll call her when I get back into town."
We went home a few days later and good news: I'd left everything in the care of a trusty 8-year old neighbor (with his mom's supervision) and my plants and cats were still alive, which is exactly what I'd paid him for. As I was unloading the car, I heard my daughter shriek "MOM! OH MY GOD! GROSS!" I went flying up the stairs and into the house as she was running up from the basement. We'd had visitors in town the week before and because one of them had cat allergies, I put the litter box in the garage. Apparently I forgot to bring it back in before I left for vacation. Normally my cats stay outdoors and meow if they need to be let out, but since I wasn't there, they were indoors more than normal. So, the entire lower level was used as one nicely decorated litterbox.
As the smell and the realization and horror hit me, I did the only logical thing under the circumstances. I started thinking up ways to blame the 8-year old. I imagined calling my landlord with my excuse....
"I'm so sorry. My cat sitter did a terrible job!"
"I had no idea these people weren't taking care of the litter box."
"I gave the responsibility to a young neighbor and he totally dropped the ball. I'll never do that again!"
My mind spun with the possibilities and then...."Really? You're going to throw an 8-year old kid under the bus?"
"Yep. That's the plan. Whatever. I won't use his name or anything and besides, he has nothing to lose - no reputation to protect."
And I started to laugh because I knew I couldn't do it. I mean I could, but I love that little guy, so I wouldn't. He did his job. I was the one at fault and a double loser if I blamed him. However, the desire to do so shocked me. It took me 3 days to make the call to my landlord - I talked to myself about what I would say the entire time but ultimately I just told the truth. It was my fault. I am still full of misdeeds.
It took me 3 more days to figure out how I would write about this, but there it is:
Hebrews 4:12-13 says - "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
I don't know about you, but I'm grateful for a God who lovingly lays bare my misdeeds, gives me the choice and chance to self-correct and then doesn't hold it against me!
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