I noticed (or remembered) something recently: The emptier a room, the louder the noise. The simplest explanation for this is that furniture and other items in a room absorb the wave sounds and slow it down, but when you remove these obstacles the sound waves expand all over the room and therefore we are able to make and hear louder sounds.
This is what has happened in our house. As we continue (when will it end?) our remodeling, some rooms have been emptied out in order to demolish/rebuild/remodel/repair. As soon as those rooms are empty, the sound level elevates by many decibels. An empty room is a great place to practice my preaching and my singing (my wife would disagree with this assessment).
Our lives resemble overcrowded rooms most of the time. There is so much stuff inside of us that it doesn’t allow for the voice of our testimony to be louder and more effective. Our minds are filled with worries and doubts and our hearts crumble under the pressure of pain and suffering.
What would happen if we would remove all the baggage and burdens from our souls? Hebrews 12:1 gives us a glimpse:
“…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”
When we bring our burdens to Christ (Matthew 11:28-30) we find rest and we feel lighter than ever before, so light, that we are now able to walk, nay, to run with Him. When we “empty” ourselves and get rid of sin, lust and our flesh, we are then ready to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit, means that we place ourselves under his full control. Being filled with the Spirit means that we willingly die to our flesh, renounce our former way of life and surrender to his leading in our lives.
Do you want to have a “loud” testimony for Christ? You must empty yourselves of sins, passions and an inordinate appetite for human desires. In fact, if you want to be really alive in Christ you must die to sin, the flesh and the world, or as Paul puts it:
“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:11)
Keep the rooms in your house clean, organized and uncluttered. Remove all the junk and all the unnecessary furniture and furnish it with things that are simple, useful and necessary. Likewise, keep your heart clean and pure and available to only one Guest: Jesus Christ.
Your testimony will be so loud and your light will shine so bright, that everyone around you will notice that the “room” of your heart is now occupied by the King of Heaven…and the former tenants are not welcomed anymore.
A. G.
