God in the cat box?

What is it about cats? People seem to either love them or hate them. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground in opinion regarding felines. Around here we love them. Most of the time. When they leave a "cat squishy" (aka hairball) on the floor to discover with a sock-clad foot, the love really diminishes. But, having the loving purr and a lap full of snuggle is worth the hassle.

We have one feline that has been in our family for going on 12 years. The other one has only been with us since late summer. Both of them have their own personality which makes for an interesting mix to watch. With two cats come twice the joys and twice the mess regarding any given cat chore. Which leads me to my point here today.

The cat box. What a nice, neat way to say "indoor container full of stinky poo". No one likes the job of scooping the cat box, but EVERYONE likes it once the box has been scooped. It benefits everyone around to have all the poo out of the box, and dealt with in the appropriate manner. Isn't that just like how God works with us?

In our "life box" we tend to end up with little bits of poo as we go through our days. Sins we commit. We try to cover sin up, bury it. We'll even use a scented litter to help hide it. But, who are we fooling? God can smell our deposits, and He longs to scoop the box. But, the reality is that He won't start scooping until we allow Him to. So, we continue to fill up our life box with bits of sin/poo, and as the odor permeates the air around us, we keep digging and burying. Trying to cover it all - thinking that no one will notice. What fools we are! The stench will make the eyes water! That same stench should make us start looking for help.

Amos 4:10

“I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD.

What God wants is a relationship with us. He wants us to turn to Him, and seek His forgiveness - and ask Him to get out the holy scooper (aka the Holy Spirit) to remedy our situation. God will forgive our sin and flush it away just as easily as a cat owner cleans out the cat boxes. It is going to take work on our part. The work of submitting. The work of admitting. Jesus Christ did all the really dirty work for us on the cross. What is left is for us to give God access to our box, and let Him clean out the poo. What a breath of fresh air that will be for each of us!