Dishwasher Wars

Not a new reality TV show but an admittedly exaggerated description for what goes on in our home regularly.

I load the dishwasher, packing in all items to my liking and efficiency, and shut the door.
Without stealth or pretense, Jon will enter the loading area sometime later, open the dishwasher to put in his singular item, and pause…

From there, the reorganizing, removing, and reloading commences. 
By the time he is finished, it resembles little of the original loaded appliance.
Total overhaul, remodel, or whatever ‘re-do’ word you’d choose to use.

I’ve learned to smile and not take offense.
(Seriously, a guy who loads the dishwasher---which he does regularly!---is not one to quibble about technique with. I’m smart enough to be thankful & keep my mouth shut.)

Usually.

“Not good enough?”, I ask, (usually with my hands folded across my chest).“I thought the task complete.”
“It’s not like your salvation relies on the top & bottom racks being completely perfect”, I chasten.
(Bringing doctrine into an issue with my theologian-husband is a technique I learned early in our marriage.)

He laughs, assures me it is ‘no big deal’, and distracts me with his charm.
(Ok, the last phrase is where the “reality” of this tale  might "fudge", but you get the drift.)

I articulate this entire (true) account because it reflects a behavior we sometimes repeat in a more serious area of our life.
To our Saviour.
Oh, it’s not about dishes or loading technique.
But it is about the completed, finished work of His death on the Cross that needs nothing added.
And yet how sometimes, unwittingly, we think (or feel) we have to sneak back into the “kitchen’ to “help” finish the job---as if it were not quite ‘complete’.

I was struck with this parallel after listening to the powerful words of the following song:

Complete in Thee

Complete in Thee! no work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.

Complete in Thee! no more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee.

Complete in Thee, each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.

Dear Saviour! when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are,
Among Thy chosen will I be,
At Thy right hand, complete in Thee.

Refrain:
Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

As redeemed, forgiven daughters of our God, we stand complete in his sight.
In at least 3 areas, I can rest in confidence: NO FURTHER WORK IS NEEDED!

1. I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ that makes my pure standing before God complete – I don’t need to try to be good, do good, act good or appear good to please God.  He completed that goodness in me through Christ.                                                                                                     
2. I am equipped to have victory over the sin struggles in my life. I don’t need to look to my past --blaming people/circumstances/heredity for my failings, I don’t need to find the magic ‘techniques’ or rely on a support group to guarantee my victory over habits. I don’t have to wait until ‘such & such” a circumstance changes so I can THEN change and take control. I don't need to settle for a way of behavior that is "just the way I am".My resource to fight sin is complete. And it is in Him, not anything or anyone else                                                                                           Christ. Has. Already. Conquered. Sin.                        
3. I have all I need in Christ. My identity is not in my relationships, my achievements, my status, my possessions, my children, my pleasures. AND I DO NOT NEED ANY OF THESE THINGS to find joy and contentment, purpose or identity.  I can rest…complete in Him. 

The gospel is not about what we do, but about what already has been done.

Do I sometimes sneak back in the kitchen & affront God by trying to mess with what He’s already finished? (I would be much better off in all these occasions to instead look to HIM. )
His work is complete.

Enjoy a spectacular musical reminder of this truth here