June 2008
Many people recently have been doing some spring cleaning, with the result that a lot of things have been thrown out. It has even happened at the Rectory, especially in the wardrobes, where clothes have been discarded, and in the study where magazines, booklets and such like, have been found to be no longer relevant or needed.
All of us have occasions when we realise that our homes have become cluttered with things we have accumulated over the years, which we no longer want or need. It can be hard to get rid of things we are fond of, or which could possibly be useful at some time or other, or which have particular meaning or hold memories for us. Yet we also know that we haven’t got room in our homes for everything, and we have to make decisions about what to keep, and what to let go. It isn’t easy and we can agonise about such things for quite a long time before we finally realise that it must be done, and there is no other option.
The same thing can be said about our lives as well. Our lives can so easily become cluttered with all sorts of things which become attached to us over the years. It happens gradually, and we rarely notice what we have been doing, but in time there are so many things that are part and parcel of our lives, even though we don’t need them, nor are they useful, and in fact, they have become a hindrance to our living life as we should.
What about television, for example? How many of us spend so much of our lives in front of the TV screens, watching various ‘soaps’, or reality shows, or talent shows, or whatever? These programmes take up so much of our lives, and yet what use are they, or what value or purpose do they add to our lives? Not that television is the only aspect of our lives that needs a spring cleaning, for there are areas of all our lives where we ought to look seriously, and decide what role, if any, they should have in our lives.
We have a tendency to amble along each day in a regular routine getting on with life, as it were, without really asking what we are doing, and why we are doing the things that dominate our life. Do we have any sense of purpose, any real idea what we are aiming for in life, any goal that motivates us within our life? And for many the answer is ‘no’, so that things just happen, and life becomes more and more cluttered, with no stock-taking happening from time to time.
If we are to have a life that is fulfilling, and truly meaningful, then we need to have a purpose that we are working towards, and to which we are devoting the bulk of our efforts and energies. This is where the Christian faith can change our lives, and the whole perspective of our lives. When we commit our lives to Christ in faith, He becomes the centre of our lives, the One we seek to follow and serve, and so we have a purpose to our lives that give us a focus, and brings energy and enthusiasm to all we do.
With Christ at the centre, as our purpose and focus , every other part of our lives fits into place, and we see things in a new way, and live life in a new way. Other things may have to take second place, or take a back seat, or become discarded, as no longer important or relevant to our lives. Often it is not that they are wrong as such, but that they don’t matter now, or are distracting us from our main focus or purpose.
It may be getting a little late in the year to have a good spring cleaning of our homes, but its not too late to spring clean our lives, and discard those things we don’t need, or are a distraction. At the same time let us put Christ and His service as the focus, the main purpose of our lives, and devote our efforts and our energies into following His purpose for our lives.