Big Takeaway: Let Jesus cleanse your spiritual clogs.
Have you ever done a juice cleanse?
I have not because let's be real, I like food too much. However, juice cleanse advocates claim that drinking fruit and vegetable juice for an extended amount of time has the power to reset your body and aid in weight loss. Although this may be partially true, there is no sufficient evidence to prove that juice cleanses contribute to lasting health results.
As I’ve seen New Year’s resolutions pop up from people left and right, I had this thought: A physical cleanse may help you temporarily, but it will never give you guaranteed health. The same is true when it comes to our faith.
Anything or anyone besides Jesus will offer us a quick fix, one that only claims to cleanse.
I’ve been reading through the book of John, and recently read his account of Jesus flipping tables in the temple. (John 2:13-25) For context, during Passover, Jews would travel to Jerusalem to worship and offer sacrifices. This was meant to be a time of remembering how God delivered them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.
When Jesus arrived at the temple, he found Gentiles who had turned a holy place into a marketplace. What I find most fascinating is that Jesus wasn’t upset at the act of selling animals or making money. In fact, these things were necessary for those traveling from far places because most people traveled by foot.
Jesus was upset because people were using a physical space that was meant to be about God into a space about themselves. Their dismissal of God’s authority proved their hearts were “clogged” with selfishness and sin.
So, what did Jesus do?
According to scripture (ESV), “he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
What a mic drop moment, right?
Jesus came to cleanse. In the same way the people in the temple struggled to get their priorities straight, we too have our spiritual “clogs” that hold us back from following; like pride, self-reliance, doubt, complacency, sins of omission, and more.
Maybe your “clogs” are your phone, a stuffed schedule, lack of rest, or misallocated time. Been there!
Friend, in 2023, will you let Jesus cleanse you of your spiritual “clogs"? Will you let him flip the tables on what’s holding you back from worshipping your Heavenly Father?
In the same way Jesus cleansed the temple of everything unholy, he can cleanse your heart and life, too. Not in a juice cleanse kind of way, but in a way that will never fail.
Reflect:
Read John 2:13-25. What holds you back from wholeheartedly worshipping Jesus? Ask him to cleanse you of these “clogs” and step into the abundant life he has for you!