Casandra Martin

Are you a spring cleaner? There is something wonderful about having a sorted, organized, scrubbed, sparkling house. The truth is I love the results. It is just the process that I am not crazy about.

As the days move forward and the cross looms larger, Jesus enters the temple courts in Jerusalem. But the sounds that greet Him are discordant. Instead of praise, people are thirsty for profit. Instead of sacrifice, there is selfishness. Instead of repentance, there is reimbursement. Instead of prayer, people are promoting their wares. They have taken what is consecrated, and use it for the commercial, the crass, and the common.

Jesus moves into action with emotion and determination. He drives out the animals, overturns the tables of the moneychangers, and upsets the benches of those selling doves. The place where God dwells must be defined by worship, wonder, joy, humility, and praise. It is to be the place that most transparently shines with His glory.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19

I have to sit here and quietly wonder what Jesus would do if He walked through my soul. What would He see? What noise would He hear? What motives drive my heart? What would He need to clean out?

My Jesus Resolution today is to let Jesus do some spring cleaning. My heart is His temple, but too often I let the world take up residence in the place where God should dwell alone. I worry instead of worship, complain rather than confess, forget rather than focus, and drag my feet instead of delighting in His presence. I want Jesus to throw out my selfish tendencies, my mixed-up motives, and my unholy habits. I want a heart scrubbed clean by His grace, made fresh with His mercy, and sparkling with His glory.