Christmas 2013, my husband surprised me with a new car, complete with an oversized, obnoxious bow on the hood.  Completely excited and overwhelmed, I stared at this gift knowing changes they were a comin’.

So allow me to be transparent with you – every car I ever owned should have been condemned by the Board of Health.

Seriously – not joking.

Like many of us today, my car was a second home.  Traveling between work, school and home, many meals were consumed in the driver’s seat. Clothes, shoes, papers, and random debris littered the rest of the interior space.

And I guarantee, at any given point in time, a McDonald’s french fry sat lonely under a seat.

One time I was driving to an evening class at the school I was attending, and I had a flat tire.  Pulling to the side of the road, I was too far from home to call my husband or daddy for help.  Not knowing how to change a flat tire (and let’s face it – even if I did, I wasn’t going to attempt it), I called campus police.  When the young officer arrived, he immediately opened the trunk to retrieve the spare (who knew??).

I’m not sure if his face registered shock, disbelief, disgust or all of the above.  It took twenty minutes to empty the contents from the trunk to the side of the road.  At one point he stopped, turned to me, and said, “Ma’am, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much junk is someone’s car!”

Of course, after the tire was changed, all that junk found its way back in.

And when my children came along a few years later with milk bottles and Happy Meals, the messes – and smells – only got worse.

This type of car care was my norm for years – until the Christmas present car.

The Lord had been on me about the way I cared for these blessings (children and possessions) He provided.  There was no reason my family should ride in disgusting messes.

So I chose to follow His prompting to obedience.  I would keep this car pristine.  No food or drinks would be consumed in the car (and yes, I still had young children).

Our first outing in the car that Christmas Eve morning was to Starbucks, and we pulled off to the side of the road – got out of the car – and took our sips. No drinking in the car.

So this summarizes riding with me….

Everyone thought I was silly and wouldn’t keep it up.  And at times it was challenging.  There were many occasions we pulled into parking lots to sit on the pavement and have a Frappuccino, but never in the car.

For almost four years, we successfully kept a clean car.

Then Hurricane Harvey surged into town.

The Christmas car was submerged in flood water and declared a total loss.  It sat for two weeks waiting on the tow truck, and when it was finally picked up, the interior was covered in mold, sludge and mildew.

I had been obedient.  I had required obedience of others.  Now my car was a mess of lumpy stink.

And this led me to a verse a friend shared a few weeks ago – (BH – Before Harvey) – and now had new meaning for me:

 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7 (emphasis mine)

At first, I saw no meaning for my life in this verse. The whole new lump phrase stood out, but there was no apparent application.

Until AH – After Harvey.

Leaven is used to make dough rise – it adds a little something to the whole. It infiltrates and spreads throughout whatever it is added to – much like sin. A little sin begins to spread and affect the whole body. And before we realize it, our whole life is a mess.

But Jesus has made it possible for me, and us, to become like unleavened bread. To remove the sin we allow to sprinkle into our lives and create a new lump in our hearts and behaviors.

Staring at the mold covered car seat, I realized somewhere along the way my obedience had lost its meaning. It had become something I did without my heart behind it. I had never bothered to share with anyone the why behind my actions. And though obedience does not necessarily require an explanation to others, it often doesn’t hurt.

So as the process begins of finding the right replacement car, one mold and mildew free, God is preparing this new lump (me). He is removing (a little painfully) the old leaven in my life and faithfully molding a new creation, one that I pray is pleasing in His sight.

What about you?

Are you leavened?

Are you ready to become a new lump?

Face2Face Time:

• Reread Isaiah 1. Compare this chapter to 2 Kings 21.
  • What is the connection between these two passages?
  • What significance does this have for us today?

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• There are nine commands in Isaiah 1: 16 – 20.
  • List them.
  • Using your concordance, write out a scripture to go with each command.
  • Circle the command you struggle obeying the most right now and pray it this week.

 

Feeling ambitious?

• Choose one (or all) of the four kings mentioned in Isaiah 1:1.
  • List everything you learn about your choice with a specific focus on his/their impact on Judah.