clean house

have you ever tried to clean every speck of dirt out of your house? and i mean EVERY speck. i don't just mean pulling out the couch and vacuuming underneath, i mean combing through each carpet hair and getting every microscopic piece of uncleanness out and opening up the couch cushions and getting every germ... around your whole house...
that's impossible, you say, i can't even see them! how could i possibly clean the things i can't even see?
exactly my point. so have you?
no, of course not! you say.

that is how clean our lives and hearts and minds have to be in order to stand in the presence of God. every speck must be gone. from the littlest half truth you can't even remember telling in the 5th grade to the littlest laugh you chuckled when you heard a good piece of gossip to the littlest thought of disrespect for your parents or teacher you entertained.... every speck.
but that's impossible, you say. and isn't it unreasonable?
no.
what's unreasonable is that we would dare to tell GOD to lower His perfect standards because we have rejected Him! what kind of God would He be if He allowed imperfection into His presence? isn't it ridiculous when a teacher passes a child into the next grade, knowing full well he cannot read and is cheating at all his tests? but for some reason we expect God to lower His standards for us!
well, then it's hopeless. i can't meet the standard! you say.
and there is the horrible, terrible truth. you can't. no amount of work on your part will earn you perfection. no matter how many times you scrub the countertop, there will still be dirt in the sink, there will still be termites in the walls, there will still be dust under the rug.
but hidden therein is the wonderful, amazing truth. you can't do it, but GOD DID IT! God's perfect Son absorbed your imperfections, and stood in front of God as if HE had committed those imperfect things. HE took the punishment. God rejected HIM because of YOUR sins!
but Jesus didn't stop there! He came alive again! He overcame death! and He joined God again!
the only thing God asks of you is that you accept Jesus' sacrifice of His own life. He asks that you submit your life to Him, living each day in gratitude for His gift! He will put His Holy Spirit inside of you so that you can live a new and better life!
it's like, when you were groveling hopelessly in your filthy house, trying in vain to find and remove all the stains, all the dirt, all the germs, He came in and gave you a brand new house - no dirt, no filth! all you have to do is live in it, respect it, take care of it, show your gratitude.
i'd say that's a pretty good deal.