“How could you be so clumsy? Look at the mess you’ve made! You can clean it up.” With that outburst, I stormed upstairs, slammed the door, and plopped down in my bedroom chair. Seething that my thirteen-year-old son dumped a gallon of expensive paint, and I mean the whole gallon. That in itself was enough, but it spilled on our new den-carpet. Still fuming, the Holy Spirit in His gentle way broke through my anger and spoke to my heart, “How many messes have you made in your life?” I knew the answer was more that I could count. His second question drew me to my knees in shame. “And who helped you clean up those messes?” With that, I went downstairs and together, my son and I scooped up paint. We were both surprised that with my shop vacuum and a little water we sucked all the paint out of the carpet until no sign of the mess remained.
Every parent understands that raising children involves cleaning up lots of messes. I must admit I enjoyed my children more after they were potty trained and didn’t smear food all over their face and the table. Yet, Donna and I entered parenthood knowing cleanup was included as part of our responsibility. My opening illustrates this doesn’t end when they reach their teens.
Our heavenly Father knew before He created man He would be cleaning us up all through our life—even after, we received Christ as Savior. Nothing helped me understand the love of God more than this. The Bible College I attend taught God demanded perfection and chastised us for even the slightest failure. I envisioned the Father as a demanding God waiting for us to make a mistake so He could punish us. Every time I fell down like a child learning to walk and made a mess, I thought my Christianity was over. Instead, He picked me up, washed me off, and said, “Let’s try that again.” His love finally broke my hard stubborn nature.
The Bible presents numerous characters that made messes. Of course, Adam and Eve started by making a mess of the whole world and humanity, which I wrote about three weeks ago. During a difficult time in my life, the Holy Spirit led me to the life of Mark. Because of my chronic bouts with malaria, we were unable to return to Zambia as missionaries. Some of my colleagues considered us a failure and our ministry finished. Then I read how Mark failed on his first mission’s trip. For whatever reason, he abandoned Paul and Barnabas and returned home. Paul viewed him as a failure. This led to tension between Paul and Barnabas ending their partnership in ministry. However, Paul writes in his last letter, Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service (2Tim 4:11). Note God’s perspective toward this young man who made a mess; He chose him to write one of the four gospels.
Jesus vividly demonstrated this attitude when the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees arrested Him and Peter once again made a mess. Peter grabbed his sword and took a swing at Marcus the high priest’s slave intending to cut off his head instead cut off his ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him (Luke 22:51). Imagine this scene; Jesus surrounded by a mob on His way to be crucified and knowing Peter would deny Him before the night was over takes the time to clean up Peter’s mess and heals a slave’s ear.
After many years, I grasp why He kept cleaning up my messes. First, He loves me this much. I know I still only glimpse His infinite love and all it means. It remains beyond human comprehension. We are His creation; we are His children and like a parent, He committed Himself to care for us. Second, Jesus invested His life for us. Paul writes, For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Rom 5:10). He suffered and died for us to be reconciled to Him. In other words, He has a huge invested in us. Now that we are believers, much more will He care for us, including cleaning up our messes.
We sold our house with the same carpet, which showed no evidence of the mess my son made. The Lord does not do patch work and simply cover up messes. God’s cleaning is thorough leaving no evidence our mess ever existed. What kind of mess have you made, a broken marriage, a dysfunctional family, lost trust, lost job, infidelity, and the list is endless? No one has the ability to make a mess so huge that the all-powerful God can’t clean up. God ask Abraham and Jeremiah, Is anything too difficult for the LORD (Gen 18:14; Jer 32:27).
Sustaining Word for the Week: The Father loves you beyond anything you can imagine and waits for you to turn your mess over to Him. It’s not too difficult for the LORD.