Garbage for Grace

We have more garbage cans than anybody in our neighborhood. When I drag the garbage cans out for pick up, everybody else has one or two cans. But we have five or six. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because there are more people living in our house. Maybe all my neighbors have trash compactors. Maybe their garbage cans are bigger and better than mine. But we have more garbage than anybody else. Every Wednesday all my garbage cans are full. I feel a little self-conscious about it. I sometimes help the men who pick up my garbage. I help them lift the cans and dump it in the truck. One morning I bought them donuts. I thought I should give them something. All I give them is garbage – and lots of it! So I gave them donuts and they accepted them. Sin is like garbage. Everybody has garbage. I have more than others. There was a time when my life was so trashed. I had so much garbage piled up I couldn’t see. Shame. Guilt. It overwhelmed me. But I couldn’t stay out of the garbage. I threw my addiction (my bottles) in the garbage and made vows and promises that I did not keep. I could not stop. At night, I went back to the garbage. Literally! This brought more guilt. More shame. But I couldn’t quit. Then I hurt myself. I hurt others really bad. It woke me up. I came to my senses and cried out “Lord, help me! Save me!” He did. He took my garbage away. Jesus Christ is my garbage man. As I say that I cringe. I almost deleted it. It sounds so irreverent. But it’s true. All I had to give Jesus was garbage – and lots of it! He took it away and told me to stay out of the garbage. Jesus told me to “get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21). So, by his grace, I accepted his word and he saved me. But I still have garbage in my life. More than anybody else I know. I try to stay out of it. I keep giving it to Jesus and he keeps taking it away. He picks it up every day so that it doesn’t pile up. I feel self-conscious about it. I sometimes try to help him but he always tells me that he has to take care of it. I can’t help him. He has to do all the work. He takes my garbage and I take his grace. I try to give him things to show how grateful I am but my gifts are equivalent to donuts. He doesn’t need my gifts but he accepts them anyway. What an exchange! Garbage for grace. Jesus takes my garbage and I take his grace. He takes my guilt and shame and credits me with his righteousness. Lord, Thank you for saving me. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for your grace and love. Help me to stay out of the garbage. In Jesus name, Amen!