De-Cluttering the Soul - "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1: 29

But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression. Psalm 19: 12-13

Well, there is nothing better than a major remodeling project in order to help one get rid of superfluous items, a.k.a. junk. We just went through the total transformation of our kitchen; and may I say, it looks fabulous! (Well, after we are done painting, I’m certain it will look fabulous).

Before the project could begin, I had to empty every one of our old cabinets. I could not believe how much junk I had accumulated during the last 10 years. I found stuff I had not seen in at least that long! I also found stuff I didn’t even know I had; - this made me feel really icky. So I bought big black garbage bags and I began my de-cluttering mission. I donated about eight 30-gal bags full of soon-to-be-someone-else’s “treasures” to Goodwill. I threw away about five more. The rest, I put in plastic bins and boxes, and unto the storage room outside the house they went.

After the kitchen work was finished, I was ready to start bringing my stuff back inside, and to my surprise, it didn't fit! I knew it wouldn't since the old kitchen had more cabinetry, - a.k.a. more room to store unnecessary junk. I decided which items I was going to bring inside my brand new kitchen. The rest I kept in the bins and I hid them away back in the outside storage room, - out of sight, out of mind, right?

I felt good about my de-cluttering success. The new kitchen felt light and airy, just the way I wanted it. No longer did I feel the weight of all the junk hidden inside old cabinets. No longer did I stress out about stuff creeping out into other rooms. No longer did I experience guilt every time I shoved new junk inside the already over-stuffed drawers and cupboards in my old kitchen. Now, all I had were the bare necessities. No more would I run into things I’d forgotten or even knew I had. I declared my mission accomplished. But, was it?

Of course it wasn't! Outside, in a dark and hidden place, in a forgotten room not too far away there sat 5 or 6 big plastic bins full of stuff I didn’t know what to do with…

I had, indeed, gotten rid of a lot of dead weight and clutter; but I had also kept a whole lot I didn’t need to keep. I just couldn't let go of it. Even though I knew I didn’t have much use for it, I packed it all up and put it in a back corner where it didn't bother anybody. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Of course it wasn’t! I’m writing about it, aren’t I? The hidden junk is as much in my mind now as it was when it hid in my old kitchen cabinets. I had not gotten rid of it. I had just moved it to a different place. I hadn’t de-cluttered. I had just cluttered a different place. I had not gotten rid of all the excess. I was not completely clean. I had just done the bare minimum. The sense of guilt was still in my heart, and I didn’t know how to get rid of it.

Why am I thinking about such things on Good Friday, one may ask? Simple…I think about these things today, because this is the day that we commemorate the actions that the One and Only performed in order to wash us white as snow.

Today we remember with solemn reverence and infinite gratitude what our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ did in order to wipe away our hidden sin and reconcile us to the Father so we could have perfect union with the Trinity by the cleansing power of His blood.

It is only by the blood of Jesus that the de-cluttering of our soul could be declared a complete success. Jesus doesn’t just move our sin around. He wipes it away. There is no way we can keep hidden sin stored in plastic bins in a forgotten corner of our heart. He cleanses us and purifies us with hyssop. He thoroughly washes us until we shine brighter than gold. He blots out our transgressions and washes away our iniquity. Nothing remains, not even our hidden faults. That’s what the sacred blood of Jesus can do. That’s what the sacred blood of Jesus does when we receive Him in our heart and soul.


There is no way we can purify ourselves by our own means in a way that we appear blameless before the Almighty. There is no way we can cleanse ourselves and wash away the hidden sin by ourselves and be clothed with righteousness so we can be reconciled with God. There would always be sin that we can’t let go of. Without the blood of the Lamb who was slain we would always hang on to creepy clutter that crowds our soul and leaves no room to breathe free.

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1: 29


Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Psalm 139: 23