Next to my bed there is a lump in the floor. Whenever I walk over it, my mind always says "what is that", even though I've felt it under the carpet a million times. But tonight, oddly enough, it got me thinking.
Imagine yourself as a house (1st Corinthians 6:19). God is the builder, and He has constructed all that you are, top to bottom, and He has furnished you with basics, internally, that you need to have a relationship with Him. Finally, He gives you the tools you need to continue building the relationship, the things outside of the bare essentials that make the relationship beautiful and stable and full. They are yours to assemble.
Matthew 13:24-26
Here is another story Jesus told: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew..."
Unfortunately, you don't always take care to "lock yourself up" each night. You say "I know how to build this, it's mine! My house, I can do it!" Fool. So one night comes when your door is unlocked and a stranger walks in. He notices your carpet hasn't yet been laid, and as you sleep, he trashes the place. You wake up the next morning to find the place a mess, and frantically you realize that the Builder is coming to note your progress that very day. "If I can just lay down the carpet," you say, "It won't be so noticeable." Quickly you put the carpet into place and arrange the furniture accordingly. He rings your doorbell.
"Hello! Come in!" you say nervously, as He walks into the foyer and looks around mildly. "You know, I was just getting everything ready as You came..." you hesitate as He steps into the living room. Was that the crunch of a soda can, or are you imagining it? You must be imagining it. At least, He didn't say anything. "I've also been doing some stuff outside, and I think it looks really nice. Would you like to see?" you ask.
He shakes His head. "No thanks, I'm more interested on the inside. After all, this is where we're going to be meeting, not out on your front lawn." He smiles gently. You're starting to feel a little better; maybe He doesn't know about the carpet. He doesn't seem mad and He's not pressuring you about anything. You relax a little.
"Alright," you say, "How about sitting down and talking?" You walk over to the couch, and as you move you step on something hard. You wince for a moment, and remind yourself to avoid that spot in the future, because it hurts. Actually, you tell yourself that you'll eventually rip up the carpet and clean everything, but for now you push it aside. "What would you like to talk about today?" you ask once you sit down. He is still standing. He looks at you.
"How did the rest of your building go?" He asks you. You tell Him it went fine, just fine. You wait for Him to respond. He says, "Did you remember to lock up like I told you?" You stumble a little and say, "Well.... not exactly..... but everything turned out alright. The house is built, isn't that what counts?" He looks sort of sad and you feel guilty immediately, but are too embarrassed to admit what actually happened. You try to bring up a few more things, but the conversations seems more than a little awkward. "You know, I feel a little tired. I think I might lie down for a while," you say. He says ok, tells you He loves you, and leaves. You feel wretched, but not motivated enough to tear up your carpet just yet and do it all over. You're not even sure what's all under there; how long would it take to clean? You might need help, but then you would have to tell Him what really took place. Was it really worth redoing? It's not that bad, is it? But then again, what if whatever is under there starts to rot and stink? That would be hard not to notice....
