Key Verse
“He said, "That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."” Mark 7:20-23 WEB
Lesson
Walking down a trail or along the beach and seeing a trash everywhere is annoying. No one likes to see trash and litter strewn among the beauty of nature. Sadly, many people are indifferent to it, but no one likes it. It takes away from the natural beauty, it is ugly. It also damages the area over time. There are many types of trash and they are all ugly and damaging. Trash takes a very long time to decompose and will harm the animals and plants in the process.
We try hard to keep trash from getting into these natural places. Even with all the trash cans and recycle bins, some trash will inevitably escape. The only way to take care of the unsightly trash is to get someone to carefully remove each little piece. They must keep coming back to remove new litter. It requires constant maintenance to ensure that our natural places stay free of contamination.
Litter is a lot like sin. It defiles our hearts and is rather ugly. Over time it causes great damage to each person and those around them. Sin has many forms, but it all has the same effect. We can try to keep sin from getting into our hearts. However, as Jesus pointed out, it is already there. The only solution is to have someone carefully remove it, then keep going back to them to ensure new sins are removed. The only person who can do this is Jesus. No mater what type of sinful trash is in your life, Jesus can remove it, and he wants to!
Questions
Can you think of other types of sin not listed in the key verse?
Will our sin decompose or go away with time?
Why did Jesus say that evil comes from within?
How does Jesus remove the spiritual refuse or trash in our lives?
Written by David F. Garner
Photo Credit: bilyjan via www.pixabay.com