Proverbs 14:4. Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
Everything we do in life comes with a cost. That’s what Solomon is reminding his children of here in Proverbs 14:4. If you want a clean manger (the feed trough for animals in a barn), then you should get rid of your ox. But if you get rid of your ox, you won’t have abundant crops.
If you want to keep your house clean, don’t ever invite anyone over.
If you want your vehicle to stay looking like new inside, don’ ever give someone a ride in it.
If you want your life to stay perfect, by all means don’t let imperfect people into it.
Here’s the principle: the good things that God gives us in life are often hard and messy. We have to work diligently if we want to get the best things out of life. Messes have to be made to create something beautiful. Nothing good comes easily. We must be ready to accept upheaval if we want to see change occur in our lives, and in the lives of those around us.
Jesus knew this too. In order to save us, he had to leave the orderly life of Heaven and come into this very chaotic world. He was born in a dirty manger likely next to oxen, donkeys, and sheep. And, of course, he died on a dirty, disgusting, terrible cross, having taken upon himself the sins of the world.
Jesus wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty for us. Literally and figuratively. And he’s still not afraid to of the mess that comes with transforming your life. He already knows what you and I need to learn, that change is messy. But Christ has chosen to enter the mess of your heart, with all of its wretched double-mindedness, knowing that the only way to produce an abundant crop of righteousness in you is to yoke you to his love and faithfulness, break up the soil of your hard heart, dig out the boulders of your doubts, and tear out the weeds of your worldliness. And this is the hard work that Christ in you is happy to do.
Life is messy. But Jesus isn’t afraid of a dirty manger. Are you? Are you willing to let your life get dirty in order to love and care for others in the same way that Christ loves and cares for you even in the messiness of life?
You can choose to stay away from “messy” people and ignore them, but if you do, you will miss out on becoming more like Jesus. If you choose that you want to be like Jesus, it will get hard and messy. But it will always be worth it.
You: To what degree are you OK with letting some messiness into your life? The mess that Christ in you creates? The mess that loving others creates?
You in Christ: How does knowing that you are positionally clean in Christ allow you to get your manger dirty as you let Christ change you?
Christ in you: Is there a “messy” person that you’ve been avoiding lately? How can trusting Christ in you allow you to enter that mess trusting in an abundant crop of righteousness?
Pray: Father, you’ve never been afraid of getting your hands dirty with us. Help me to do the hard things in life and learn to trust Christ in me as I go. Amen.
To Live is Christ 