Hoarders!!!

I don't know if you watch the show, "Hoarders".  I admit I watch it because it makes me feel good about my housekeeping.  lol  I was thinking about that this morning.  Don't ask me why this came to my mind but it did.  Actually I was thinking about Jesus and how He did everything for me to make me acceptable to God, cleaning me up and taking away my sin.  This illustration came to my mind so I thought I would share it because someone needs to read this.

A "hoarder" is a person who begins to collect things and can't let anything go.  Now, some of the hoarders on the show are more than "collectors".  Some, actually most, have had a traumatic event in their lives that have triggered the hoarding.  Some even collect garbage and don't clean anything up.  I can only imagine the smell in their homes.  In one episode the team who was cleaning up a woman's home found a few dead cats under the garbage.  You would have to see this show to believe it.

What happens to these people is that eventually their homes become so cluttered and filled with "stuff" that they give up and don't care anymore.  They look at the mounds of garbage and things they have accumulated and see that the task of cleaning it up is impossible. 

On this show they bring in a team to help the hoarder.  They usually have a psychologist to help deal with the cause of the problem and an organizer to help clean the home.  They also have a large team to help get rid of the stuff that will be thrown away and to clean the home.

Okay, you're saying,"And your point is?" .  This is my point.  Before we are saved we are filled with sin.  We are containers for all the garbage we have accumulated in our hearts.  Sin has cluttered our lives to the point we are hopeless.  We see that there is no way we can clean all this up.  We realize that, unless someone helps us deal with the root of our problem, we will never be clean.  We need someone to come in and clean up our mess.

That is exactly what Jesus did and does.  He comes through the door of our hearts, looks at the mess that we are so ashamed of, and deals with the root first.  The sin root.  Actually he dealt with this root problem over 2000 years ago.  He's seen this stuff before!  He saw it as he hung on the cross.  He took our stuff with Him on the cross, carried it to the grave with him and left it there.  When He rose from the grave, he didn't bring it with him.

When we accept this, we see that all our garbage is suddenly gone.  The stench is gone!  But we look around and still see the clutter.  Wait a minute! I thought He got rid of it all?  Don't despair, in walks the Organizer!  The Holy Spirit is your helper!  He will walk through and determine what you should keep and what you should throw away.  He will not overwhelm you.  He will go at your pace, putting your things where they belong and making your heart a place of peace and rest, no longer a place of shame and condemnation.

That's our Jesus!  That is what He did for me and for you!!  When we were overwhelmed, hopeless.  He finished the work for us!  Hallelujah!