“Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51: 2
Ever really felt unclean? As a teen, I took a bog walk intended to help me grow in understanding of the challenges faced by my blind mentor. The bog was murky and mucky. The smell of decay permeated the air. We had no idea what we were stepping on. We were immersed in bogginess. We were at the mercy of whatever was in that bog. It was uncomfortable to be coated in bog. It was a strange sensation to have to rely on senses other than sight. There was nothing we wanted more after that experience than to cleanse ourselves.
No one offers better cleansing than our triune God.
David was a man after God’s heart. Yet David knew what it was like to be coated in sin… he had a few boggy experiences himself. For David the desire to be right with God was a driving force. But he knew that he wasn’t worthy to approach God; he knew that his sins made him unclean. He knew he needed ‘cleansing.’ Do we have that same sense today?
A child once asked me why I kept coming to church. “Haven’t you memorized this service by now?” the child said.
“Yes, I have memorized the services, but I still need to repent of my sins. Like everyone else, I need to check in with God. “
The kid persisted… “But you could pray at home. Why do you need to come back?”
I thought about that for a moment and then replied, “This is God’s home and I strongly sense His presence here. It is here in God’s house that the best cleansing is offered because the community of the faithful in this place help me to keep the guardrails on my faith when I falter. God wants me to be here. So I return faithfully each week when possible.”
At the onset of his ministry, Jesus opted for a cleansing in the Jordan River. He emerged with a profound calling from God, a call into a ministry that would blossom into the establishment of God’s kingdom forever. But Jesus’ earthly ministry involved a most unorthodox exit – one that was not understood by those who followed him most closely. It was a messy exit that transformed into an everlasting cleansing operation of salvation and forgiveness that extends to you and me today.
When life gets messy (and it does), head for the greatest of cleaners… return to Jesus!
MARCH 18 / SUNDAY
Psalm 51:1-13 or Psalm 119:9-16
Jeremiah 31:31-34
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