Cleaning the Gunk

Focal Verses: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-34).

My husband Matt and I will celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary in a little over a month. We each finished college, started our first jobs, bought our first home, adopted 5 pets, traveled together, and eventually welcomed our almost-2-year-old son. We've had ours ups and downs, and overall, it has been a wonderful seven years.

A few weeks ago, while waiting on a meeting at work, I was looking at my diamond engagement ring, reminiscing on the first few days that I wore it. It was so shiny then, reflective of young love and anticipation of the years to come. But as I looked at this ring that has been on my finger for almost eight years, I noticed how the diamond in the center wasn't shining, and neither were the small diamonds on each side and on the wedding band. I couldn't recall how long it had been since I had cleaned my ring. I wear it everywhere and only take it off when absolutely necessary (which is almost never). I got so accustomed to the ring on my finger that I hadn't even noticed that it had lost its shine and sparkle long ago.

So one night, I did what I had read somewhere - I brushed the ring with an old toothbrush and non-gel toothpaste. (If you laugh, you must try it first-it works!) I couldn't believe how much my ring sparkled! It looked like it was brand new and I was sure it would blind someone if they got too close.

My pride was short-lived, when the next day waiting for another meeting at work, I started looking at my ring again. I happened to look on the underside of my shiny diamond, where the prongs were, only to notice "gunk." There was no telling how many months - or years - of dirt was on this part of the diamond that I didn't scrub. I was determined to go back and get my toothbrush and toothpaste and work on this hidden area much harder. But do you know what I found? I couldn't remove this gunk myself. I don't know if it was too encrusted or if the bristles just wouldn't reach. Irritated, I realized that I would have to take it to a jeweler to restore the shine even in the less obvious places.

In the same way, sometimes I can go a long time without acknowledging or confessing sin, and over time, that unconfessed sin starts to cloud the brightness of the Light of Christ within. I don't even realize how dirty I am until I come to Christ for cleansing.

I also started to realize that there are probably parts of me that I don't even realize are dirty. I can look (and feel) bright and shiny on the outside and yet part of me is encrusted with sin that I may not even be aware of. And no matter how hard I scrub to be clean, unless God reveals that sin to me, I may never see it. Others might. But it also might be so entrenched and hidden that no one else sees it either.

That's why David said at the end of Psalm 139: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." These verses indicate that it is very possible we may have sin we are unaware of. Some sin may be so entrenched that it began in childhood and we assume it's part of our personality. Other sin could be the product of denial when the Holy Spirit convicts us, and just like a callous, we're so accustomed to it, and it is part of our way of life.

If we wholeheartedly pray these words of David in Psalm 139, God will show us if there is an area of our lives that only He can bring to light - and cleanse. When we are cleansed, the light of Christ will shine through us.

I think of those verses now every time I look at my engagement ring. It's a good reminder to pray for God to reveal any gunk that might be in my life. Now if I can just find the time to get to a jeweler.