Pastor's Pen: Jesus is not intimidated by our mess

Like many gardens at this time of the year, ours is looking a bit like a swamp. The dog has even decided not to venture too far at risk of getting stuck in the proverbial quagmire at the bottom of the garden. To make matters worse, we noticed also that the gutters around the house were completely blocked with leaves and gunge, so we even had our own waterfall coming off the roof when the heavens would open. There was nothing else for it, but to call someone who knew what to do in such emergencies. I’m useless when it comes to these things!

A few days later a guy with an incredibly powerful jet hose came and cleared out the gutters of all the debris causing a mess all over the driveway. The dog wisely stayed in the house. Whilst the job to clean-up was messy, it was necessary, and I now can rest easy knowing that the rain water is getting away safely rather than gathering in our garden.

You see I could have simply ignored the few dead leaves that had blocked a drain, and in turn flooded the garden. Sometimes the longer we leave addressing the problem the bigger and more destructive it becomes. And sometimes in order to address the problem, we have to accept we need help.

Are there areas of your life that you know need addressing? Is it something that you feel you can deal with on your own, or is it time to be honest with yourself and ask for some help?

Maybe the mess appears so bad that you believe no one wants to help you. Well the amazing hope that exists today is that Jesus specialises in mess. One of the many things I love about Jesus is that he gravitates toward those who are typically ignored, ridiculed, hated and rejected. And the truth is this - Jesus is not intimidated by our mess. He sees beyond our failures and offers us a faithful future.

You can’t do anything so bad that it will cause God to love you any less. Jesus is so serious about the task that He came to earth to restore anyone who is willing to have their mess cleaned up.

If today you need to know that God is for you and not against you, then take comfort from these words in the Bible: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”