Put It Away

My family calls my sister “the memory keeper.” If we have something we don't know what to do with and don't want to throw away but don’t want to store we give it to her. I know it’s unfair but we do it anyway. Now this puts her in a very awkward position. What is she supposed to do with these pieces of sentimentality? She usually just stashes it somewhere in her house (she has a large house.) Now all this stashing for so many years is getting a bit overwhelming to her. I mean, you can only stash for so long.  She has come to the place of getting rid of the things we now can let go of. This means a lot of calling around to the family to see if the object is meaningful enough that we want it back. Most of the time, it’s not. Now this is unfair too because she has kept for years the thing we really could do without. It’s the saving of the unnecessary.

Paul helps the Ephesians clear out the clutter in chapter 4 verses 21-32 and Chapter 5:1-2. God says, “Don't save the unnecessary. Put it out and away from yourself. This is not what a Christ follower should be holding onto.  Put away for good your old unsaved self. That’s a memory you don’t need to keep. Put away the lies you've been telling yourself and others. Get rid of the anger you have been harboring. Throw away dishonesty. Put away the ugly things you used to say in your everyday conversations with others. Put away bitterness, anger, clamor, and slander. Get rid of all of it. Put it all away from you for good. ”

Like my sister, when we get rid of the unnecessary we are left with some blessed space. God gives us something to put in this sacred empty place. In these same verses He says, “Replace this junk with: truth speaking, peacemaking, honest dealings, pure talking, and Holy Spirit cheering. Be sweet, pacifying, calming, and complimentary. Build others up and give grace to everyone that you're around.

As my sister is experiencing, this de-junking requires some work. Thankfully when de-junking our lives we have help. We have the help of God Himself. He indicates through the Holy Spirit’s conviction what is unnecessary in our lives. He seals us in Christ our victorious Savior so that we can accomplish this putting off and putting on.

   

I must admit that I catch myself hanging on to the old paraphernalia of a life without Christ sometimes. The junk starts accumulating. It’s just the saving of the unnecessary. I have even found junk in my life I've saved for years. I don't need to be “the memory keeper” of my former old unsaved self. It’s not fair to Christ who died to rid me of that old life. It is an insult to the Holy Spirit and grieves Him. It is an abuse of the love the Father God has for me. When I look at it this way I see just how awful hanging on to my old self is.

Father, Help me put away the old indications of my former life without You.

Renew in me a right way of thinking and living.

Help me to always be ready to put on Your likeness and imitate You.

Help me put away the junk.

Put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.  Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.