Sweeping it Under the Rug

       Have you ever been sweeping the floor and suddenly realize you don't have a dust pan?  You have company coming and need to get rid of the little pile of dust that is on the floor.  No one is looking, so we just sweep it under the rug.  After all, who looks under the rug?  You may find yourself in that scenario and wonder what you are going to do.  A little phrase became popular a long time ago where we simply "sweep it under the rug."   It simply means to  "Hide something, as in Their attempts to sweep the scandal under the rug were not very successful. This idiom alludes to sweeping dust under the rug, so it won't be seen"   In some cases, we may forget about where we put it.  Another idiom says, "Out of sight, out of mind."  Someday, you find yourself pulling back the rug only to find that pile of dirt that you put there some time ago.  There are, of course, somethings that you cannot hide, nor sweep under any rug, physical or spiritual.  Second Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."  
       This applies to that long list of things that we have done or in some case, failed to do.  God has instructed us to do certain things but we often just plain fail to do them.  We think that maybe God will not notice.  Then, there is that long list of things that we have done, some good, some bad.  At the Bema seat judgment, it will all be made clear and open.  There will be nothing that has been swept under the rug and forgotten.  Rewards are important to us.  I recall the first track race I ever ran.  I got first place, probably not due to my speed, but rather the slowness of the opponents.  The reward was a blue ribbon,but it was small, homemade and cheap looking, but it was still for first place.  A friend of mine who played oboe, wanted to wear my ribbon during the day and it made me feel just a tad bit happy about all of it.  At the Bema seat judgment, we hope that we will be receiving rewards that are precious gems and not wood, hay and stubble that will be consumed in the fire.  Don't get in the habit today of just sweeping things under the spiritual rug and hope they will never be noticed.  In the end, all of it will be indeed, noticed.  Praise God because He is Holy and Just.