Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s below freezing again this morning and the little bit of snow that fell days ago is still lingering on the ground. As I sat in the Presence of the Most High this morning, I thought about how sometimes just a little dusting of sin or adversity can fall upon life and if we’re not careful it can linger for way too long too. That small layer of snow and ice can cause more problems for us than a foot of snow ever could because it appears to be so harmless and yet it’s nearly impossible to find your footing. What an amazing God I serve that would use a layer of ice and snow to drive home a Message about how anything standing in between me and my God is ALWAYS a problem no matter how harmless it appears to be on the surface. Isn’t that the way you see your Journey of Life too?

It’s interesting how man is inclined to gauge sin like the weatherman gauges the accumulation of snow and ice. Many people deny that sin is sin to very the One we profess to Serve, and that a “little white lie” is no different than murder in His eyes. The “big sin” isn’t always easy to hide, and if it’s big enough, the world will have a front-row seat to watch the journey. There isn’t usually much debating over “big sin” because the offense is crystal clear to all. But when it comes to those “little sins” – the countless things that can stand in the way between us and our God, now that’s a different story to many of God’s people. They’ll excuse away things like an angry heart, a bitter tongue, judgment, or gossip as if they’re somehow superior to a drug addict or adulterer in the eyes of the Lord. But they’re only fooling themselves, Those thin layers can be a slippery slope that can linger for a very long time (sometimes an entire lifetime) and they definitely stand in the way between us and our God…until we repent and turn away, that is. If we want to be pleasing to the God of all Creation, we need to care as much about doing away with the thin layers as we do the blizzards. They ALL stand in the way between us and the Author and Perfecter of our Faith.

There’s a lot that goes into a Rich Relationship with the Living God…time, praise, service, etc., but the way to true fulfillment isn’t what we do on the outside, it’s the willingness to Examine ourselves on the Inside that matters the most. It’s when we Examine our own Hearts that we’ll see those layers for what they REALLY are, and when we see them (to the extent possible) the way God does, we can’t get rid of them fast enough! We see the long-term ripple effect of our harsh words that can sometimes last for generations. We see the damage we do by pointing out wrongs to our loved ones as if we’re the judge and jury. We see what a bad Witness we are in this dark world by behavior we excuse away as if it doesn’t matter to God but every layer matters to Him. Pride and arrogance have to be buried for us to be willing to Examine our own Hearts. Those thin layers of ice don’t usually melt away over time, they need to be forced away instead. If we want to be pleasing to the God of all Creation, we must be willing to Examine our Hearts for anything standing in the way of the Rich Relationship He wants with every child.

There’s no action needed to do away with the thin layer of ice and snow at the farm – it will melt on its own eventually. But when it comes to my Heart and my Rich Relationship with the One Who died for me, I won’t be buying time hoping thin layers go away on their own like the ice on the ground. I don’t want ANYTHING standing between me and my Amazing God and I’m willing to face whatever I need to face and to repent of whatever I need to repent of so that I can have THE BEST Relationship with Him until He calls me Home. After all, the King of all kings died for me, it only makes sense that I would Live for Him!

How about you?