Spilling the Coffee

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Sometimes in the morning it’s not a good idea to leave me alone, especially near things that spill or catch fire.  This morning was one of those days. 

I heard the dog barking to go outside, so I was hurrying to put coffee in the maker so it would perk while I was outside, and…voilà, instant mess!

I recall thinking when those coffee grounds hit the kitchen floor, am I more ticked that now I have to clean up this mess – or – am I more in grieving mode for having wasted precious coffee, the elixir I’m sure Jesus had in mind when he said man shall not live by bread alone (you need coffee to go with it!)?

Either way, the vacuum cleaner got more coffee than I did, and I still had to take the dog out.  Life sometimes is not easily navigated in the mornings; especially without caffeine. 

I think it was that way for Adam and Eve.  God had given them the specifics of life in relationship with Him; avoid that one tree in the middle of the garden…everything else is yours to enjoy and use. 

One prohibition – ONE little level of obedience…and they blew it big-time!

Genesis tells us that the moment they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil their eyes were opened – meaning the eyes of their conscious understanding – and they saw the coffee grounds hit the floor. 

They knew it was going to be a tough day!

What they could not have known was how that opening of the door for sin was going to make for a tough existence for all people.  Our sin nature, inherited from Adam, has a 100% track record of spilling the coffee!  We are all guilty.

But, my little messy morning analogy ends when you try to bring out the vacuum.  When it comes to sin, there is no “un-doing” it. 

And I’m glad the analogy breaks down there; it’s a difficult enough thing to sweep up coffee grounds that cover the kitchen floor and every crack in the linoleum, baseboard and cascade down into the a/c ducts.  When it comes to sin, a lifetime of sweeping it up will only amount to sweeping it under the carpet; it’s always there.

Like King David said after his sin with Bathsheba,

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Psalm 51:3^(KJV)

I guess we could bring back the vacuum cleaner for the first part of David’s sentence; acknowledging his sin, or confession, is exactly what begins the cleansing.  It is when we acknowledge our sins before God, claiming no innocence, merely admitting our choices are first degree and rightfully deserving of punishment, that we open the door to the grace of Almighty God, and experience forgiveness.

When you confess your sins to God in private, or stand with others in worship and corporately make confession of sin, stand with David’s confession, my sin is ever before me, and I lay it before You, O God.

You can’t “un-spill” the coffee, but you have One who can deal with your mess!

For You Today

If forgiveness is what drives us to Him, confession is what makes us clean in His presence. 

We are good at spilling the coffee and making a mess of our lives; God is really good at getting in all the cracks and crevices to weed out what wrecks our lives.

Judgment Day

May 16, 2013

I’ve always loved fountain pens.  There’s something about the way the way ink settles on fine paper, creating a flowing picture to enhance the words.  (My handwriting has never been picturesque, but a fountain pen always seemed to make it look better).

A couple years ago I gave up using my favorite pen.  It’s not that my admiration for finely-crafted pens had diminished; my pen’s point began dispensing too much ink at some points and too little at others.  In the “too much department” the lines on the paper became blobs, and obscured the beauty (if not the message) of my words.  “Bleeding-over” is the way ink migrates when there is too much, and must spread out; it chooses its own path and the puddles usually aren’t pretty!

Jesus’ warning about “idle words” sometimes falls in this “bleed-over” category.  He was issuing a warning against religious leaders who were attempting to thwart his ministry, not blasting those who believed-in and followed him.  We can be hyper-sensitive about judgment themes, taking on warnings about idle words and past sins never intended for believers.  I tend to do this whenever I read passages about judgment for sin.  I immediately run it through my grid to see if I need to confess anything. 

Now, that’s good, but sometimes I spend so much time worrying I’ve offended holy God, the “bleed-over” I experience is a sense of constant fear and worry, rather than joy and contentment in relationship with my wonderful Savior.  Jesus died so I could be forgiven, and in right relationship with the Father...not so I would spend my life in abject fear and condemnation.

It’s a balancing act to keep a right sense of respect and reverence for God’s majesty and holiness, held in tension against the warm welcome of being forgiven and free.  But that is a balancing act well worth the effort. 

Today, keep a good balance between reverence and rejoicing; don’t let judgment day bleed over on what God has forgiven!