January 19
Genesis 35:16-36
Psalm 11:4-7
Proverbs 3:3-4
Matthew 12:22-50
Unoccupied
“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43-45 LSB
This is a terrifying and confusing passage. Jesus is trying to explain to the Pharisees that getting rid of the bad stuff in your life is not the way to please God. They had created an elaborate list of rules and regulations for every aspect of their lives. There was a long list of dos and don’ts that they expected the people to follow in order to please God. Jesus was showing them a better way. He desperately desires for them to understand that He wanted to change their hearts and replace the sin in their lives with a relationship with Him.
It is possible to get rid of all the bad stuff in your life, clean yourself up and get your life in order in a way that makes you look really good on the outside, but still be empty on the inside. When that happens the old desires and temptations will come back and they will be even worse than they were to start with. You will return to your old patterns of living and open yourself up to even worse behaviors. We are incapable of righteous living. It is not in our nature. We can do it for a little while, but it won’t last if we are relying on our own power and strength. This results in frustration and eventually you will give up trying to be good and just give in to the sinful desires.
There is another way. Jesus is offering freedom from the slavery of sin. He is offering hope and abundant life. It is not found in being better and trying harder to be good. It is found in a personal, intimate relationship with Him. We come to Him broken and sinful recognizing our condition and asking Him to forgive us. When we do that He comes to us and fills us with the Holy Spirit. He indwells us. He doesn’t wait till we clean out all the bad stuff and get our life in order. He comes into the middle of the mess and He begins the process of cleaning us out. He starts working on our bad habits and evil desires and slowly gets rid of them. But when He removes them, He doesn’t just leave an empty space, He fills it with other things that are fruitful and help us grow and flourish. He gives us a desire to spend time with Him, read His Word, spend time with other believers, etc. He replaces the sinful desires and behavior with His righteousness. It is a slow process of sanctification that takes a lifetime. We will not be perfected until we receive our glorified bodies in His presence, but there will be gradual progress as we grow closer to Him each day. The closer we get to Him, the more He is able to change us and mold us into His image.
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