Being clean
It’s good to be clean. A day’s sweaty graft in the garden and then
you sink into the bath. A hard 90
minutes efforts and the cascade of the hot shower. A ten hour shift in the grim and you finally
collapse, scrubbed clean, with a well-deserved drink.
Infinitely better
Peter says we will be ‘cleansed from our sins’
(1Peter 1:9). Hebrews promises we will
be ‘cleansed once for all, and would no longer feel guilty for sins’ through ‘the
blood of Christ’, meaning his death (Hebrews 10:2). The Bible closes with a
people ‘white and clean’ riding behind Jesus (Revelation 19:14).
It is the idea that life and our decisions and what
others have said and done to us stains us.
And Jesus offers to wash us clean.
Tomorrow he dies
The night before he dies this is the imagery Jesus
uses about his own death – it is like a servant crawling in the dirt, washing
you clean.
‘…Jesus got up, took off his outer clothing, and
wrapped a towel around his waist. After
that he poured water in a basin and began to wash his disciples feet…’ (John 13:4-5)
‘Took off’ is the same word as ‘lay down’ in John
10:15 and 18. ‘I lay down my life…I lay
it down of my own accord.’ He means his
death.
Peter struggles to accept it!
‘He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are
you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus
replied, ‘You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will
understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you
shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus
answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just
my feet but my hands and my head as well!’
(John 13:6-9)
Seven reasons we hesitate to let Jesus clean us
1.
I don’t think the dirt matters.
It doesn’t seem to be doing me too much harm, and
anyway I’m too busy to deal with it now.
And yet, like the child’s grazed, muddied knee must be cleaned to avoid infection
so our dirt matters. Left unwashed it
infects us – relationships and marriages and health and self-understanding are
all weakened.
2.
I don’t think the dirt can come off.
It’s too ingrained.
It’s permanent. I’m struck with it
and just need to make the most of life.
But imagine the liberation when a mistaken tattoo can be removed. The dirt can come off. After all Peter was pretty grubby! His nickname rock was initially given because
of his thick-headed comments; he would have been a murder if he wasn’t
incompetent with a sword and lopped off an ear instead of a head; and three
times he denies who Jesus is. If Jesus
can clean that dirt he can clean yours off.
3.
I don’t think the dirt can be seen.
I’ve hidden it well, re-arranging the furniture of
life over the darkest stains. Yet you
see it, and God does, and in your attempt to avoid others seeing it you have
isolated yourself– too close and they might get a glimpse of what is there!
4.
I don’t think I should be dirty.
I became a Christian, Jesus washed me then so I’m a
bit embarrassed about this stain! Notice
Jesus recognises that the journey of life means we are in constant need, not of
another bath, but a daily wash: ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash
their feet…’ (John 13:10)
5.
I am already clean!
You’re kidding yourself. ‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves…’ (1John 1:8)
6.
I don’t think there is an alternative – this is my normal.
In fact this is my identity. I’m quite scared of being anything else –
this is who I am. I can’t see beyond
this to the new life offered.
7.
I quite enjoy the dirt.
It’s good fun!
But C S Lewis help us here: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our
desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling
about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an
ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot
imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily
pleased.”
Let Jesus clean you.
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