My poor front room.

Our ‘front room’ (named such since it is at the front of our house) is a strange little room. It was once a dining room in which we never dined, but for a while now it has been a study; the place where we make our greeting cards, work on the computer and hide our DVD collection (not through embarrassment but convenience). For some reason, however, our front room descends in to a state of chaos with the greatest of ease. All we need to do is not keep an eye on it for a week and it becomes an insurmountable mess full of unopened post, bank statements, ironing and unfinished cards etc! When this occurs we start to avoid going in there because it’s depressing, but this only makes things worse!
However, when we can stand it no more we get in there and sort it out; everything is filed away, sorted through or thrown away. And then it is clear and we can use it again; it feels great. It is sad that a tidy room can bring us such joy but it does, because at last we can use it again for what it was intended for – to make beautiful cards for people’s birthdays and edit photos for weddings, portraits and even the Fusion Devotional.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” (Heb 12:2 NIV)

Our lives can be very similar at times. Without any effort at all they can become full of distractions rather than Christ; this is a disaster! We want Christ to reign in our lives but so many things push him to one side. Not that we choose for this to happen; I never want my front room to become messy and uninhabitable but when I do not pay attention to the stuff I am putting in there – stuff that doesn’t belong there – or spend no time in keeping it in order, it quickly becomes a burden. Our lives should be full of joy, but a joy-filled living is not absent of responsibility; it requires us to vigilant of want comes in and what resides in our heart. Keeping our eyes fixed upon Christ is not a joy-less effort, it is what gives us pleasure now and forever more! With our life fixed upon Christ our life does not get full of life-sapping distractions, instead it becomes full of joy, pleasure, freedom, productiveness, fun and adventure.

“Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” (Col 3:16-17 MSG)

Let’s not get cluttered.

-Andrew Carey