The first warm days of spring have arrived with everything outside singing with new life. That newness is brought into our homes by “spring cleaning”. Homes are turned upside down by cleaning out cupboards, taking things apart, cleaning and scouring. We reach into every dark corner of our homes in order to make them presentable, fresh, and new.

Sometimes we need to do the same thing with our spiritual houses. We need to take stock and clean up, and maybe discard some things.

Reading Psalm 51 is a great prompt to spring cleaning. Repentance is a time to fling wide the windows of our souls and invite the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to enter. It’s a time to invite Jesus to sort through the clutter we have accumulated and toss out pride, anger, unbelief, revenge, complaining, evil thoughts and gossip.

The wonderful part of inviting Jesus to spring-clean our hearts is that we don’t have to wait for spring. It can be a daily celebration of his forgiveness and the transformation he brings to our lives.

Reverend Gordon Crabb