Clean Often

4 x 6 Plan | Read: John 13:1-20 & 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4

“No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” (John 13:8-9)

How many times do we try and act like we have it all together? Like we have no problems. We want the benefits of coming to God, but won’t let Him have access to the very parts of our lives that so badly need His attention. Like Peter, we don’t want our weakness and the filthiness of our feet to be seen, so we refuse to drop our guard and be vulnerable. This keeps us from humbling ourselves and admitting we have issues. We need to drop the fake smile and “doing great” routine and let others know we are hurting. Whether it’s our marriage or temper, lusts or self-centeredness, once we believe, we must allow God to cleanse us. 

Now, it’s important we don’t think this must be done in reverse. Many wrongly teach that we need to get our lives together and then come to God, but God cleans His fish after He catches them. Come to him as you are—broken, dirty, trapped by sin—He just wants you to come. In the story of the Prodigal Son, when the son showed up filthy and stinking, his father didn’t say, “Whoa! Take a bath, get some new clothes, and then you can come home.” No! He ran to him, embraced him, and said, “My Son!” Then he said, “Let’s clean you up.” God accepts you wherever you are, but cares too much to let you stay there.  

Salvation is more powerful than any cleaner on the market today. Our hearts have been scrubbed, but we can still get dirty walking in the world. As with cleaning any stain, time is of the essence—the longer it sits, the worse it gets. Don’t let things accumulate and harden and calcify. Clean often. This principle is sound in just about every area of life. In our finances—don’t let the receipts get crazy; balance the book often. In exercise—don’t just hit the gym in January, do a little every day. So it is with our soul. We can’t rely on a religious booster shot, attending a church service on Sunday, meanwhile the stains are starting to set in. Let Jesus spot clean your heart daily. How? By spending time in the Bible, through prayer, listening to music, downloading podcasts, etc.. You can experience digital discipleship while driving in your car! Start serving. Christianity is not a spectator sport. All of these things will help keep us unspotted from the world, but we first must be willing to risk looking bad, let down our shield, and admit we don’t have it all together.

Remember: God accepts you wherever you are, but cares too much to let you stay there.

Action Steps 

Bible: What is God showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.