Cleaning House
Did you ever wonder where the tradition of Spring Cleaning came from? Having just finished my Passover cleaning earlier this afternoon I can guess that that is where it originated. Cleaning for Passover teaches us that we are to look for the sin in our lives and get it out. Today's cleaning taught me a couple of lessons:
1- It is not enough to get the dirt out of our houses if our hearts are unclean. Paul tells us to keep the Passover not with the old leaven, but with a clean heart full of sincerity and truth.
since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven,
nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8
2- It is not good enough to "put away" or "hide" the leaven. Because I live in a household with someone who doesn't observe Passover I don't throw out all the leaven, but this year as I was cleaning I decided to atleast put it away in the pantry "out of sight" ... since sin is likened unto leaven in the Scriptures then it is a good lesson that we should not just hide the sin in the proverbial cupboard, but we should ultimately purge it from our lives and dispose of it.
3- Sin hides in unexpected places and often we are surprised to find unexpected sin. Today as I was cleaning out the bread basket I dumped it on to the table and found some old cookies from a trip we took a few months back. I was surprised to find this "bit of leaven" and it reminded me that often times sin creeps in to places we don't suspect it to and as we search out the sin in our lives we may be surprised that it is hiding there.
4- Lastly I learned as I was preparing today and feeding the kids and I the "last bits of leaven" that we do this with sin sometimes, indulging in "one last time" or trying to "finish it up". Why not just throw out the sin and get rid of it instead of trying to "use it up".
Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of Me."
Ever since I can remember in reading through the Scriptures I have been intrigued by the passages that talked about Sabbath and Passover and the other Feasts wondering how, why, what does that look like and feel like. I just realized in typing this, my girls won't have to wonder :) Anyways, about 10 years ago I learned what it felt like when I kept my first Passover ... what a wonderful, wonderful experience and one I have not stopped doing. Each one is different ... the first year we sat around little tables and had no clue except for the few "traditions" we could find online or wherever. Each year my knowledge of the meal and the important pieces of it have grown.
This year the idea of keeping Christ first and foremost was always before my eyes. If we miss Christ, our Passover Lamb, we have missed everything!
I took my girls through a simple seder (seder means service) that hopefully they would remember.
We got on our sandals and had our staff ready.
We "painted" the doorposts and put "blood" (i.e. red ribbon) on the doorposts.
We hung our "tamborine banner" Alexis and I made last year. The tamborine to signify Miriam who led the people out with singing ... last year we went camping with the Waller family for Passover and it was just me and my girls ... we were like the little "miriam women" setting out on a great adventure!
We drank four "sippy" cups of Sparkling Grape Juice. Each of the cups signifying something different ... sanctification, judgement, redemption and praise (see below) ...
We read a short story and went through the Haggadah (book telling the story of Passover).
We ate the bitter herbs (the tops of a piece of celery) dipped in the salt water to remind us of the bitterness of sin and the tears of slavery to sin.
We broke the matzah (unleavened bread) and talked about the matzah and Lexi asked why it was bruised and I reminded her that Yeshua's body (Jesus) was bruised and pierced for us.
We ate it with horseradish on it to remind us again of the bitterness of slavery and then with sweet applebutter to remind us of the mortar that the Israelites used to make bricks and the sweetness of freedom. Lexi really like the matzah this year and so did Ainsley who proclaimed "cwackur".
The Salvation Story - re-enacted!
We drank more juice each cup reminding us of "sanctification, being set apart by Jesus to be a special people", "judgement and the plagues and how God makes a distinction between people who obey what He tells us to do and those who do not obey (like Pharoah)", "redemption, how God purchased us with a price -- the blood of Yeshua (Jesus)", and PRAISE! for our freedom.
We might not have done everything in the right order or according to "tradition", but I think they (and I) will remember it ... After we finished and the baby was running around I sat and talked to Lexi about what all this means in regards to her eternal salvation. She didn't make any great professions of faith, but she did (and does often) tell me that Jesus lives in her heart ... I hope more seeds were planted or atleast watered during our Passover meal.
We ended by singing Jesus Loves Me (and you and you pointing to each of my girls) and after dinner the girls ran around crazy chewing on bits of celery and just playing.
Afterwards I got the stroller and we went for a walk around the block with the staff in our hands. If you want to know what it is like to "leave Egypt" for a 40 year walk in the desert take a 4-year-old with you! HA! What an eye opening experience. We had to stop every few steps or so to look at a bird or to pick a weed or ask "what's that" or "this" ... or just to stop for no reason ... no wonder it took 40 years! (seriously I know why biblically it really did take them that long, but you know ...)
Lots of lessons for me today ...
Well that was our Passover ... now the girls are sleeping (I hope) and I just wanted to recount this before I forgot, we are such a forgetful people which is one of the reasons I believe we should do this year after year - the cycle of the Feasts ... ... May the Season of your Freedom be greatly blessed and remember ...
Jesus said do this in remembrance of Me
No comments:
Post a Comment