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About two weeks ago I baked some really delicious ribs marinated in tangerine juice and drizzled with brown sugar. But then this happened…
#facepalm
When I pulled the trays out of the oven I sighed heavily. And then as I scrubbed them I sighed some more. I actually left them sitting on the counter for a few days dreading even the thought of cleaning them.
As I was scrubbing them everyone around me could sense my frustration, but then Alexandra said, “Well, it’s not that bad if it has a spiritual meaning, right?” And it hit me! She was totally right! If I can see this from a different perspective then maybe this won’t be torture, but even…pleasant. Hmmm… So, I wondered what these dirty trays could possibly represent.
*Gasp!* My heart. All the black junk on the tray is my sin and Jesus is the one scrubbing to make me clean. Jesus uses his scrubber, the word of God, to clean all the gunk that has baked onto my heart over the years. As I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed I saw how deeply rooted many of my sins are. I can’t just repent once and forget about it, or write about it in my testimony one time and then move on. Instead through maaany Bible studies, maaany failures, maaany struggles and Jesus’ overflowing grace, the gunk starts to loosen, peel away and is finally off.
Scrubbing these trays clean has been a long process, and I keep coming back to them, patiently scrubbing one area this way and that way, add a little water, scrub some more, let it soak, then scrub some more. This is reflective of Jesus’ patience and love for me. When he saw me full of sin, he didn’t just throw me away and buy new trays. Instead he took me in, called me to himself to have life together with him, and is patiently cleaning me up with his words so that I can become clean.
Jesus is so beautiful. His patience, his hope for me, his tenderness, his humility, and his love for me always remain. All I have to do is remain in him and remain in his words and he is willing to patiently bear my filthy sins and wash me through his words.
“All the black junk on the tray is my sin and Jesus is the one scrubbing to make me clean. Jesus uses his scrubber, the word of God, to clean all the gunk that has baked onto my heart over the years. ”
That entire paragraph was a beautiful reminder for me of what God’s word is doing for me and my sheep and why reading it every day and meditating on it day and night is helping me to overcome all of my sins. Jesus is working so hard to make me clean. I want to do more than just write about my sin in my testimonies and think that everything is okay. Effective example. Now I am even more excited to know and apply God’s word to my life every day!
Yes! You’re soooo right that meditating on the word of God day and night is so crucial, but also so powerful!
I knew you’d find a spiritual meaning to it. ^_^ God’s labor of love for you is so amazing that he didn’t just let you stay in the world all messed up but saved you and is washing you sparkly clean in Him. Jesus washes us clean better than Tide ever will. ^^ Hehe. God loves you so very much! ^^
Thank you for your encouraging words and for helping me have a better perspective!
Haha better than Tide! That could be a funny spiritual advertisement for the Bible or something.
“Hey you, want to live a clean life? Read your Bible!
BETTER THAN TIDE.”
Thank you @shepalexandra for reminding us all to see God’s perspective!
Might make a good rap!
Cough, cough… @leotbrzl , there’s a calling to make a rap commercial for the kingdom of God
Wow I really love this! Great message and beautiful perspective Alex
Praise God!
Oh no now I have that song in my head, but with your version of it…”You are the Potter, I am the….tray….” It seems God revealed to you the real meaning of that dirty tray. Praise God that He does not not want to throw us away, but chooses to work with us until we are sparkling clean! Also…I hereby request your recipe for those delicious ribs…
…until we are sparkling clean! Amen!
Also, I knew someone was gonna ask about the ribs!
Post it on the blog????
If anyone ever asked me if I thought it was possible to write a post about scrubbing dirty food trays, let alone to relate it somehow back to Christian life, I would have said it is impossible. Today, I am proved wrong! Good job! Maybe in heaven this will be brought up. Sin is definitely like that yucky tray but Jesus is washing me clean. (It took me a second to get the title haha!!!) 🙏🏻
Haha, I think maybe everything carries a message from God to us, we just have to look deeper. Actually, one time Melissa and I were pulling weeds and one weed reminded me of a certain sheep. Haha!
^ LOL!! Those weeds were sooooo hard to pull…
#neveragain
I would dump the tray and never waste my time to scrub or clean. Impatience will be piling up if I clean that! But Jesus is not like me, thank him!
Yes! Thank, Jesus! He is so beautiful and unlike anyone!
HAHAH!! I think I would too. I too am thankful that Jesus isn’t like me
Praise God for this divine revelation, and his beautiful work in your life! I think sometimes my sin is more like a huge PILE of dirty dishes in Jesus’ sink. But he is so patient and good to me, willingly scrubbing each dish, drying it, and putting it in the right place.
Thanks for posting this! Now, I think washing painfully dirty dishes will be more fun…maybe…
I used to think washing dishes was fun, but it gets old really fast when things pile up again almost as soon as I wash them. But your comment inspires me to do chores with a more willing heart haha
Hmm. Those dishes are really like my sins. If we do not take care of them and wash them, they will pile up, and make me into a sore to the eyes. Not to mention, all the bad smell, all the Sticky gunk, and all the flies they will attract, will cause the dishes even more difficult to clean. I’d better clean my spiritual dishes quickly and frequently.
oh man! the imagery of flies buzzing around my “dishes” is so gross! Yes, I better wash them ASAP
The never ending pile of dishes in the sink! Agh! But now I’m thinking about posting a picture by the sink to remind me of Jesus’ love…hmmm…maybe a picture of Jesus washing dishes? LOL
I approve!
Hehe I always think about washing only the inside of the dishes…And if anyone objected, I would say, “But Jesus says if I clean the inside of the dish, the outside will be clean too!!”
HAHAHAH. Yeah, you should try that at home 😉
“I can’t just repent once and forget about it, or write about it in my testimony one time and then move on. Instead through maaany Bible studies, maaany failures, maaany struggles and Jesus’ overflowing grace, the gunk starts to loosen, peel away and is finally off.” – This is definitely true, showing me how only Jesus’ grace has this kind of power to bear with me and only He can have this kind of long-suffering patience so that eventually He and I can have victory over even just one sin problem. By the way, I love the title of your post! Yes, definitely we are the tray!
Wow, “even just one sin problem.” So true! This makes Jesus’ patience and grace all the more remarkable!
This is a very beautiful testimony, and it is very insightful. Jesus is patiently cleaning us and scrubbing away all the sins from our lives! What a great illustration. I very much appreciate what Alexandra said, “Well, it’s not that bad if it has a spiritual meaning, right?” I like this perspective because when mistakes are made and when failures occur, there are spiritual meaning or lessons behind them. Amen.
Amen! What you said reminds me of something written in Mother Barry’s biography: “Problems are not really the problem; they are God’s opportunity to teach us faith and to teach us to pray; problems are opportunities to glorify God.” With a new perspective everything reveals God’s glory! So cool 🙂
This post is so touching. Jesus indeed could’ve just bought a new tray and thrown me away. After all, there are so many trays out there that are fancier than me. Yet, Jesus scrubbed my sins really hard until my beauty is unraveled. I know that my cleaning process is not done yet, but I’m already like a completely different tray because of how hard and diligent Jesus has been scrubbing me. Thank you for the post.
P.S.: try using tin foil. It’ll make the cleaning process so much easier.
When we are scrubbed clean by Jesus I think we become even more beautiful than those other fancy trays because our lives reveal Jesus’ glory 🙂
😂 I will use foil from now on 😂
haha every time I wash a tray, I’ll be reminded of this! and I’ll make sure I leave it extra clean lol I’m definitely that dirty tray. But Jesus is at his work cleaning and scrubbing! Praise God! 🙂
haha, a very practical reminder! Thank God that he doesn’t give up on us but keeps scrubbing us clean 🙂 <3