The final leg of my hail-damage project wrapped up last week. Along with the earlier roof replacement, I now have four new windows. Someone asked if I loved them, but I had to admit—they looked just like the old ones, only cleaner!
I half-joked with the installation crew that I’d now need to clean the rest of my windows just to make them match.
If you know us Dutch folk, you know we cling pretty tightly to the saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
This past Saturday was scorching hot, so I figured an inside project would be just the ticket. Naturally, I chose to tackle the rest of the windows—but only the insides. With a heat index over 100, I had no desire to lug a ladder around the house. The exteriors could wait for cooler weather.
Before you give me too much credit, keep in mind I only have twenty windows in my entire house; that’s about how many we once had just in our sunroom! Plus, with four already brand new, the project was 20% complete before I even started. Still, it felt good to finally get them done after putting it off for more than a year.
But here’s what I’d forgotten: cleaning only the inside is a frustrating and seemingly unproductive task. You know what I mean, right? Most of the grime builds up on the outside, so washing just the inside hardly improves the view. Looking through the still-dirty glass almost made me feel as if my work was pointless.
Then I reminded myself—I was also cleaning the blinds and screens, so it wasn’t a wasted effort after all.
As I made my way around the house, feeling increasingly ineffective, I realized this was a pretty good picture of the Christian life.
We have to switch the roles of inside and outside, but the principle holds true.
How easy it is to show off our “clean” side to the world—that polished exterior everyone can see. We even have phrases like, “first impressions matter,” “show your best side,” and “put your best self forward.” And truthfully, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, especially with people we don’t know well.
But what’s really happening on the inside—the part most people never see?
Even after decades of God’s sanctifying work, I know the hidden places of my heart still hold selfish motives, pride, and even moments of ill intent. And just like those windows, my “dirty” side can easily diminish the good I’m hoping to reflect.
So, is there hope for this condition? Yes and no—or more accurately, no and yes.
No, because as long as we live in this broken world, we’ll wrestle with sin in both body and mind. God can smooth away some of the rough edges, but the tension between outward polish and inward struggle remains. And we certainly can’t fix it on our own.
But yes, because we don’t have to despair. As we yield to God’s work in us, the Holy Spirit does bring change. We may not be spotless yet, but we will see progress as he reshapes us from within.
And best of all, the day is coming when we will be made completely new—sparkling clean, inside and out—with no trace of sin left. What a glorious day that will be!
…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…
Hebrews 12:1-2
Leave a Reply