Deep Clean

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? Proverbs 20: 9 (NIV)

I am a surface cleaner. I make sure that the kitchen counter tops are clean, the floor is swept and there is not a lot of clutter lying around. Otherwise, if you open my drawers, there is a mix of stuff inside and my groceries are a jumble inside the cabinets. Don’t even think about looking into my refrigerator. Just close your eyes reach inside and feel for what you need. I remember when we were getting married and bought our first house. We purchased it from an old man who just walked out and left everything. I was disgusted when I opened the refrigerator, and I saw dog hair in the freezer. What kind of person has dog hair in the freezer? I thought. Now, twenty six years and lots of dogs later, I know that it is impossible to keep the dog hair out of the freezer. At least for me. If I were vigilant, I could do it, but cleaning my refrigerator is low on my priority list. Today, however, was deep clean day. The holidays are right around the corner and soon, it will be time to decorate. Even more pressing is a family dinner next Saturday night at our house. Oldest son will be home next weekend as he has a job in his college town and could not get off for Thanksgiving. Being the first born and the first grandchild, he tends to be egocentric. Since he could not be here for Thanksgiving, he assumed we would schedule Thanksgiving dinner around him. I cleaned house from six this morning until six tonight, and I do not think it has been this clean since we moved in twenty two years ago. All the cabinets are scrubbed, freshly papered and organized. Even the stovetop and oven got a going over. I bought all these fancy gadgets to help me in my work, a scum buster, some little scrubby thing designed for cook tops and a battery powered brush the size of an electric toothbrush for the vents of my stove. The refrigerator was the grossest part. Usually it is so full of food that you can’t see the dirt, but when I emptied it, I discovered that someone spilled a whole gallon of orange juice in the bottom. Perhaps they thought it would evaporate, but I had to chisel it out it was so hard. When I was all done with my day, I was a little disappointed. The house did not look all that different from when I do a surface clean. Until I started opening up doors and looking in drawers. Then, I could see a difference. That is the way it is when Jesus gets done cleaning our hearts. To the world, we may not look all that bad. But, He can see the dirt and grime within us that only He can scrub. I am not satisfied to just look good on the outside. I want to be clean all the way through.