Set your house in order.  That’s what Isaiah tells ailing King Hezekiah.  You’re not going to live long, King.  Set your house in order!  Don’t leave a mess for someone else.

Before we got our house ready to sell, we had to ‘set our house in order’.  We had noticed, looking for another home, that some didn’t do anything to make their homes less cluttered.  Things piled up everywhere.   An instant turn-off.

Our realtor had told us to remove all my historic Stangl Pottery dinner-plate collection that adorned our kitchen walls.  What?  All of them?  Yes, every one!  Then I had to plug holes in our walls, paint over them, hoping the five year old paint would match the color on our walls. Faded much?  Not one bit, much to our relief.  But everything looked so bare… and barely lived-in.

But our realtor was right–people didn’t need to admire our beautiful things.  They needed to imagine how their things would look in the house that they wanted to buy.  Our old house sold in one day at a price higher than we had listed it for.  This in an economically-depressed area.  Amazing!  We still marvel at that blessing from the Lord!

How do we get our spiritual house in order?  Some things need to be tossed.   I had some very liberal theological commentaries left-over from my seminary days at Princeton.  Who did I want to have them?  That’s right–the recycle bin!  My decision to bring some order to that part of the ‘house’.  Other items we brought over to our daughter-in-law, who was hosting a garage sale, with monies going to support child care at their Christian home-school program at a local church.   Gave away furniture to Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army.  Then came the need to pack… and move.  Many items we moved ourselves before the big moving van arrived.

How about our spiritual house?  Get rid of things we no longer need.  Sharing what we have with others.  Giving what they can use and enjoy.  Sharing our faith in Jesus.  Giving monies to missions that proclaim the Gospel.  We give every month.

Some things in our lives need to be tenderly cared for.  Packed carefully…moved safely.  Setting your house in order involves sending them… to our future home in heaven, ahead of our arrival.  Like praises to the Lord,  prayers of all kinds,  getting closer and closer to Him, day by day.  We’re not alive for planet earth alone.  No way.  There’s heaven ahead.  Set your house in order!

Prayer:  Our Lord, help us to simplify our lives, whatever our age. Thank you for all your help.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.