I used to be a Brownie when I was a little girl…I later moved on to be a Girl Scout, but I never, ever forgot an experience that I had as a Brownie.

Each time we had a meeting, we would meet at someone’s house. I remember one house in particular, I don’t remember the mother or the girl who lived in this house, but I remember the house. It was filthy! I have never before or since seen anything that even comes close to what this house looked like. I know I have a child’s memory from a long time ago, but I don’t think I am too far off. It made an impression in my small mind that I have never forgotten.

I remember as we walked into the house, seeing trash laying on the floor. And I do mean literally, trash. Not just toys, and clutter, but trash. As if, whenever something needed to be thrown out, they just dropped it right there on the floor. I remember the kitchen sink was filthy, piled with dirty dishes…the bathroom was awful…I didn’t even want to use it when I saw it. I don’t ever remember going back to that house, and I would hope that the Brownie troop leaders made a common sense decision not to return.

Nothing short of bulldozing the house would have helped. Bulldozing and starting over from scratch. I have no doubt that rodents took up residence there as well.

For some reason I was thinking about that house this morning. Who knows what sets memories off in our minds, but sometimes something comes back to you from the past, completely out of the blue. Then I got to thinking how I can apply this to a life of a non-Christian. When people don’t have Christ in their lives, they are like this house. Filthy. We have trash of all kinds laying around in our hearts and minds. Nothing can help, short of a bulldozer, to make us clean. Jesus is the bulldozer. He comes into our hearts and minds and gets rid of all the filth and trash and rubbish, sweeps the floors of our hearts and minds clean. He starts building a new creation, and takes up residence there to make sure that it stays clean. But we first have to invite Him in. He won’t come if He isn’t invited. Just like that house would never have been clean unless someone took the time to clean it. Have you invited Jesus in to clean away the filth?