The Mundane Redeemed: House cleaning and the gospel

The Mundane Redeemed:  Housecleaning and the gospel

This week I was reminded that our redemption in Christ reaches into every last part of our lives.  There is not one dark or dusty corner left untouched by the gospel.  What was once mundane has now become sacred.  Even organizing action figures or cleaning muddy socks.

Housecleaning is blessed, redeemed work.  This week, I realized that by cleaning my house, I have a chance to teach the gospel to my kids.  I am always going on and on to them about responsibility.  We are all about raising responsible men.  However, I was recently reminded that I also need to be in the business of teaching my children a lot of other things, namely, grace.  Last week, when I picked up one of my sons from Kindergarten his teacher said to me, “Brady got a grace sticker today”.  I knew exactly what that meant.  The children get a sticker on their hand before leaving if they did not get their name on the board that day.  Occasionally, Mrs. K will give a “grace sticker”- a sticker on the hand even though the child got their name on the board.  It is her way of helping the children to learn about undeserved grace from Jesus, by way of a very practical example.  She inspired me to find some grace teaching for the kids at home.  Sitting on the floor of my son’s room, tidying up, it hit me.  In that in that very task, I had a way to show the gospel.  Especially, if I did it joyfully.

We try to teach our kids to clean their rooms.  So as not to exasperate them, I do not insist that it be done perfectly.  Usually, the books are shoved in the bookshelves ‘helter skelter’. The toys are thrown into the closest bin in a highly disorganized fashion.  Periodically, I go in and clean the room “Mommy’s way”.  Granted, in my fallen state, the cleaning of my sons’ rooms is partly selfish: a means of indulging  my tendency to be obsessive-compulsive.  But, it is also a way of showing them grace, by blessing them with a clean room that they didn’t clean. In addition, I clean it in a way they could not clean it themselves.  When they arrive home or see that I have done it, they are excited, especially if I set up the super hero figures in a cool action scene or make sure a few Spidermen are hanging from the cords on the blinds.  But, their happiness is not the main point.  Grace is the point.   My big little seven year old and I got to talking about the gospel on the way home from school.  Half way through our conversation, I asked him if he knew why mommy cleaned up his room for him sometimes.  He looked a little disappointed to be moving from the high and lofty topic of penal substitutionary atonement to him being messy.  But, after a minute, he got it! He said that he was messy and he should have to clean it, but Mommy cleans it to show him grace.  What an easy lesson, and no fancy bible curriculum needed!

Christ’s death on the cross “cleaned up my mess” by absorbing the wrath of God that I deserved.  What grace!  He did what I could never do.   So this week I’m blessed, because scrubbing the bathroom, and things of the like, now have gospel meaning.  Off to wash some muddy socks.