Moles!

My yard has never been very impressive. While it’s a good-sized lot, the ground is very sandy. I have crabgrass in abundance and various other greenery that has taken over a large portion of the backyard. The front yard gets full-sun for a large portion of the day, while the back yard is in shade most of the day. The front yard turns brown, while the back yard grows three times as fast.

And then there are the mole hills and raised tunnels. Of course you can’t just run them over with the lawnmower without damaging the blades. So you have to stomp them all down before you mow.

I hate moles.

I’ve set traps for them and taken out a few, but there always seem to be more. I can’t seem to get a grip on the problem.

But really, the moles aren’t the problem. They are just the problem I can see. The real problem, I’m told, is grubs.

I don’t profess to be anything even resembling an expert at pest control. But I did stay at an Holiday Inn Express last night. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that treating the symptom isn’t going to solve the problem.

It’s kind of like that with our faith, too. We can battle against certain sins in our lives, perhaps even eliminate them; but if we don’t deal with the heart issues underlying them, we’ve only washed the outside of the cup.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean” (Matthew 23:25-26 ESV).

Yes, if we are in Christ, we have been forgiven. But it is still our natural tendency to sin. He washed the insides of our cups through His death and resurrection. But we need to ensure that we keep it clean!

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first” (Matthew 12:43-45 ESV).

The mortgage crisis that sent our nation reeling reveals this truth all too well.

A family has their house foreclosed on, and they are evicted. All of their belongings are removed, and the house stands empty. In some neighborhoods it remains vacant. Vacant, that is, until gangs, drug-addicts, and/or squatters find it.

When Christ cleans our spiritual houses, we have a choice to make. We can go about our lives happy that our house has been cleaned, oblivious to the fact that our clean, empty house is being filled with bad things; or we can fill our houses with the Word of God. We can fill our houses with worship. We can fill our houses with Godly fellowship.

Blessings on your day!