CLEANING
MAKEOVER

Topics: Christian Life; Cleansing; Purity; Renewal; Repentance; Sanctification; Spiritual Formation

References: 2 Chronicles 29; Psalm 139:23–24; 2 Timothy 2:20–21

On the Style Channel’s Clean House, experts sweep into a cluttered home with the purpose of leaving it more comfortable, attractive, and livable. The experts face the challenges of clothes strewn across the floor, bulging cabinets, closets filled from top to bottom, cluttered countertops, and overflowing kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, and living rooms—not a clean room in the house!

The experts’ first step is to take an inventory of all the stuff. Then, decisions are made about what to sell at a yard sale and what to keep. The homeowners try to hold on to favorite clothes from years gone by, childhood keepsakes, and space-taking trivia, but then they yield. They have a yard sale, and the money they earn helps with the makeover. Then the family leaves, and the work begins.

Rooms are cleaned out, redone for more efficiency and attractiveness, and repainted. Curtains are hung, cabinets set in, and walls decorated. When the family returns, nervous anticipation quickly gives way to excitement and laughter. “Thank you, thank you,” the family says amid smiles and tears.

In the spiritual realm, there comes a time for each of us to take inventory of what’s in our hearts, get rid of some things, and do some repairing and remodeling. Like the families on Clean House, we have an expert in remodeling and renovation—Jesus Christ—who can make our makeover an astounding success.

—Ted De Haas, Bedford, Iowa