When Lou and I got engaged, we were youth leaders at our church. So for the wedding, the whole youth group was invited. I remember the youth pastor calling me after the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. He said, “Sheryl, don’t worry. You and Lou will have your car back in time for the wedding.” Basically, he was saying that the youth group had stolen the car. I knew in that moment they had some sort of prank up their sleeves. Sure enough, after the wedding the car was parked outside the church doors, but it was filled with newspaper, balloons, and smoke bombs.
This made for a great laugh for everyone leaving the church and we got some chuckles out of it as well. In addition to that, the youth had tied the church bus (the vehicle we used for youth events) to our car to make it look like they were going with us on our honeymoon. We still laugh at that. However, in order for us to get into the car, we had to remove the newspaper, balloons, and smoke bombs. It was quite the process. Once everything was removed, we could get in.
Did you know that God has a lot of really good stuff He wants to fill us with? He longs to fill our hearts with love, goodness, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and truth. But when our hearts are full of jealousy, bitterness, anger, selfishness, pride, and lies from the enemy; the good stuff cannot get in. In fact, if we let those things linger in our hearts, our hearts will be eaten up alive. Like a cancer growing in us, it will consume every good thing.
James may have recognized this happening to the people he was writing to, so he writes in James 1:21 says: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your soul.” I’m not sure we recognize the danger that could be lurking in our hearts. Danger that could be ready to erupt. Danger that can take us down a steep dark pathway… of isolation, division, alienation, and depression. Nothing good comes from filthiness or wickedness in our hearts. It’s important we keep our thoughts, speech, and conduct pure.
And the way to do that is to first get rid of the bad stuff and then receive with meekness the implanted word. This means that we gladly submit to God’s will for pure living. We listen to what God is saying and we seek to obey. We are to put on the Word of God like we put on clothes in the morning. Our clothes cover our bodies. The Word should cover every organ, mostly our hearts and our minds.
Jesus speaks about this in His parable of the Sower and the Seed in Matthew 13. He tells us that there are many things that hinder the Word from reaching our hearts. In this parable He says that when weeds grow up, they will choke out that Word. You and I know that when weeds grow up in our garden, we must pull them out or they will eventually overtake the plants and the plants may die. I wonder if James had Jesus’ parable in mind when he wrote to his audience.
Today might be a good day to do some evaluating and heart cleaning. Do you recognize any filth that resides in your heart? If so, then yank it out. Put it to death. And then receive all that God has to say in His Word. When we do this, abundant living takes on a whole new life of its own.