Our church kitchen was remodeled last summer, including new base cabinets. Naturally, we had a catch all drawer, also known as a junk drawer. We no longer have a junk drawer. But in one of the upper cabinets we have a small plastic bin labeled, “Junk Drawer Items”. It was things too useful to throw away, yet not worthy of a drawer of their own. We could have labeled the container “miscellaneous”, but these items still carry the label “junk drawer”.
Too many of us who have become followers of Jesus still wear the old labels. Where God calls us His children, God’s enemy, the accuser, calls us a fraud. Where God remembers our sin no more, the accuser keeps reminding us of who we were and all we have done wrong. In John chapter 8, Jesus explains that when we sin, we are slaves to sin. Sin is our master. Then He says in verse 36, “Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” He gives you a clean slate.
The irony is that often the people who are going to die in their sin have a false sense of security that they are a good person bound for heaven, and the very people who have been forgiven and set free by the blood of Jesus go around kicking themselves for their past. My prayer for you today is that you would see yourself as God sees you. If you are a follower of Jesus, He calls you His beloved child. He loves you and those old ways you see yourself are like worthless old clothes that need to be discarded. You are a child of the King.
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Scott Knowlton's Blog 