The Loft Notes

Count this as a Jesus can surprise you story.

Over the last few weeks I have poured myself into a book on the parables and rock and roll. For those of you that know me, this has been an ongoing project which I am glad to say is nearing completion. Where it goes from here is hard for me to say, but the other day my wife and I had a conversation related to it worth sharing.

The parable was this:

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” – Luke 11:24–26

Disturbing parable, no? I will save my take for another day but share with you what Deborah, the real pastor in our family, shared. Her take was this: It is naïve to think that just putting our house in order is enough to keep evil away. When evil leaves, put Christ in—it is the only hope we have. Then she said this:

There is more to life than having your house in order. Having your stuff organized or everything in place is ridiculous. Instead of being meticulous, ask God what you need to be doing today and put that first. Life is messy, and I would rather have a messy house and Jesus first to keep evil out than a clean house where evil can come in to a freshly vacuumed living room anytime.

This from my type-A organize everything throw a party because The Container Store is opening in The Woodlands wife. When you talk about Jesus amazing things happen! I wrote her take into my book and threw my shoes in the middle of the room.

We’ll see what happens!