Biblical Truth in a Garbage Can
So last night, about 3:00 a.m., I hear a clamor on the carport. Figuring it wasn't St. Nick, I supposed it was the local stray cats that for some reason choose to make our carport their ring for their cat-fights. Too tired to to spook them away, I ignore it and try to sleep. Sadly, I discover that it was worse than a cat fight. Much worse! Something had gotten into the garbage. And this wasn't just a garbage can with one or two bags; this was an already full, then let's clean out the refrigerator of left-overs, and still wait a couple of more days to dump kind of garbage can. Trash littered (isn't that the only thing trash can do?) the car port, drive-way, and side of the house. It was ugly, it smelled, and after picking up a bit, I realized it felt worse than it smelled! So I did the smart thing: grabbed my wife's gardening gloves. Well, it was smart until I announced it publicly where she can find out. (Actually, they were old gloves she let's the girls play with, I think?)
Picking up the trash, seeing how ugly it made things look, how bad it made things smell, and how bad it felt to touch, I was disgusted and angry at some local stray dog, then I was reminded of this Scripture:
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish (garbage!) that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God that depends on faith. Philippians 3:8-9
Paul wrote these words after stating that for meaning years he worked hard to build a spiritual resume that would guarantee his way to heaven. But after meeting Jesus and receiving Him as his personal Savior and Lord, Paul realized that none of his past good deeds and religious qualifications were sufficient to buy a ticket to heaven. He says, in fact, that his own good deeds were nothing but rubbish, garbage!
Imagine that, all the different things that we think we can do to earn God's favor and use to exchange for a ticket to heaven someday are nothing but garbage to God. Garbage that wild or stray dogs get into and make a mess of, in fact, that is exactly what Paul says: "Look out for the dogs!" (Philippians 3:1)
So the best we can do turns out no better than garbage? That's the bad news, but here is the good news. Even though we can't clean ourselves up, we can have Jesus' "cleanness" applied to us. "The righteousness which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith." When we place our faith in Jesus, God no longer sees the garbage of our lives, but the beauty of the treasure of the righteousness of Jesus. And then, as we serve Him and do good deeds, not in attempt to earn His favor but in response to His grace, what we do becomes to Him a beautiful fragrance.
Hmmm, so God can speak to us even through a trash can!
