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Bones
under the Carpet
Peter Lundell
My dog,
Angel, probably thinks she's brilliant.
Her thinking may go something like this: "I've got a
great idea! Bones need to be buried, right? Every dog knows that. Why should I
dig in the yard anymore? It's dirty, and my master won't let be back inside
until he washes me off. I hate being washed. And besides, I usually forget
where the bones are anyway. Sooo… I'll bury the bones under the carpet in his
office!"
And there
she is shoving those bones under the carpet. As if I'll never know.
Now the
carpet bulges up along the edge next to the steps down to my home office. When
the dog wants to chew a bone, she just paws one out.
I've
humored her and let the bones stay there. It's close enough to the stair that I
won't stumble. And she doesn't dig in the yard so much anymore.
It's
natural for dogs to dig and hide bones. And it's natural for humans to hide
things as well.
I think
it's fair to say that we all hide something — or perhaps 99.9 percent of us —
whether our age or weight or an embarrassment or a secret sin.
If you're
in that 0.1 percent that hides absolutely nothing, you may skip the rest of
this devotional. Have a great day.
The rest
of us know that whatever we hide, we ourselves still know and carry the pain or
the shame of it.
And many
of us know that God sees through everything anyway:
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight ..." Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)
The
amazing thing is how God allows us grace regarding the bones that each of us
may hide under our carpet.
Grace to
let us pretend they're buried; grace to take them out and make things right.
God is
amazingly merciful. He says things like,
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own
sake, and remembers your sins no more." Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
I've
often marveled at how he's never zapped me with lightning or opened up a pit
under my feet.
Many
secrets he's let stay hidden and let me work out in confession and growing in
Christ.
Yet we
also dare not be presumptuous about God's mercy. I cringed one day when I
read Psalm 50:21:
"I have kept quiet while you did these things, so you thought I
was just like you. But I will scold you and accuse you to your face." (NCV)
Whoa. How
often we don't admit the unspoken, even unconscious, assumption that when God
does not strike us, we think he's lenient with sin.
God's
grace not only covers our sin, it also exposes it. That's how we can fess up,
turn from it and be free. Free so that we're not tripping over the carpets in
our lives.
What
bones need to come out from under your carpet?
"Lord, as the psalmist says, 'Search me, O God, and know my
heart.' Thank you for your patience with me! But now heal or cleanse or convict
in me whatever is not pleasing to you and is not good for me... "
Can God
change your life?
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Peter Lundell
With a pastor’s heart, Peter Lundell connects
people and their life issues to a real God so they can live well in the face of
eternity. With a quarter century of missionary, pastoral, and teaching
experience, he brings new perspectives to interacting with God that most people
overlook. He holds an M.Div. and D.Miss. from Fuller Theological Seminary and
resides in Southern California. He authors books on Christian spirituality.
Visit him at www.PeterLundell.com.
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