God Is Perfectly Comfortable Entering Our Dirty Mess
A few years ago, I visited the apartment of a some college guys from my church.
To be honest, I was shocked. I’d never seen anything dirtier or messier. The cupboards were empty and the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes. The apartment smelled bad. There wasn’t adequate lighting and it was dark in there.
I tried to mask what I was feeling; I tried to act as if this was all normal to me.
Then one of the guys said, “Sit down PB! Make yourself comfortable.”
I looked at the couch. It was covered with crumbs and stains and miscellaneous articles of clothing (dirty of course).
On the inside, I was having a mild panic attack.
On the outside, I smiled, moved a moist sock from the seat to the armrest—and sat down.
I was there for about 35 minutes. I have no recollection of what we talked about.
Here’s what I do remember: feeling uncomfortable and out of place.
It’s embarrassing to admit it, but I was kinda worried that I would get dirty or catch something.
A few weeks later, one of the guys asked me what I thought of his apartment.
For some reason, I answered honestly:
“I was uncomfortable. I thought it was dirty and messy. It stressed me out.”
He laughed. Then he said something I’ll never forget:
“PB, your house stresses me out and makes me uncomfortable.”
I was shocked. “Why?” I asked in disbelief.
He explained, “Because everything is neat and clean and perfect—everything’s in just the right spot. I’m worried that I will mess something up or get your perfect house dirty. It’s stressful. I don’t want to sit down. I don’t want to move. It just stresses me out. When I leave, it’s a relief because I don’t have to worry about messing up your perfect place anymore.”
I could see that he wasn’t being sarcastic or retaliating because of what I said about his place. He was being completely honest.
Wow. My clean house stresses someone out.
Over the years, I’ve thought a lot about that honest conversation we had.
I’m still embarrassed about the “I’m too good for this dirty mess” attitude I had about that apartment.
And I’m thankful God doesn’t have that attitude toward us.
Think about it.
Jesus wasn’t born in a royal palace or in a top-notch hospital.
Nope. He was born in stable, a manger… a barn.
God was perfectly comfortable entering our dirty mess.
“While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough.” (Luke 2.6, 7 NCV)
This is an important truth to always remember:
NO MATTER HOW MUCH OF A DIRTY MESS YOUR LIFE IS, GOD IS HAPPY TO SHOW UP AND MAKE HIS HOME THERE.
Yes, God is perfectly comfortable entering our dirty mess.
I am a husband, father, pastor, leader & reader. I love God, love people & love life.
This is great.
I am praying this will go from my head to my heart and then to my feet.
Thank you for posting this! It gives me an opportunity to say something I’ve been thinking about for the last two days.
A lot of people who visit churches only come one time, or a couple times. Many people who accept Christ into their lives, will never come back to church. ( I’m not talking about the people who get plugged in to the community) I’m mostly referring to the really dirty people, the hopeless ones with no resources, who live the best they can with the little bit they’ve got, and the ones who love Jesus but can’t stop making terrible decisions.
And… Is it a failure on the part of Christianity that many of those people who we influence so briefly, may receive Christ, but do not receive the message and personality he can show us, representative of God. That is to say, that they leave the church never having learned that Jesus would embrace them in their mess? That he wouldn’t give any judgement for pitted out tshirts, he would hug ‘em up anyways. Dirty, disheveled, perhaps diseased.. Diseased in the flesh… Diseased in the mind. It wouldn’t matter.. So people should get this impression when they visit a church, representative of God’s love, based on the actions of Christ. This is just the way I see it.
I worry for those who get “salvation” but don’t come
back. Do they get immersed in guilt, confusion over God’s wrath/sin etc? And give up on trying to fuse Jesus into their life which they have newly defined as “Sinful” and in need of redemption.
I wish that we would all get the message at church that when we have invited God into our life, to Love us unconditionally, and to redeem us through guiding out if our messes.. That it means we can find God in our heart anywhere we go. Messy, dangerous places do not separate us from Christ’s Love which is working fervently into our hardened hearts. It’s the Good News, people should hear it from us. And they should feel it by our actions towards them. I’m praying that these words will further the things you are saying in your post PB. God Bless. And anyone who has something to add in this regard, please do.
One word: boom!