Stained, Soiled, Dirty and Needing a Bath

As much as we hate to admit it, most Christians are either slightly soiled or majorly polluted from our contact with the world. We sense it, we know it, we feel it; the uneasiness of being a part of a God-ignoring, God-forsaking, God-denying culture. We feel like traitors. While God pours out His love, grace and mercy on us we adopt the views and attitudes and lifestyles of a world gone wild with godlessness.

We are all messed up in some way due to our contact with the world – whether we or it did the pursuing. To the degree that we assimilate and adopt its value system and worldview we will either resist the truth and reject the help God offers in getting cleaned up, or try and tack on some God-stuff, looking the part of a growing Christian; or we will cry out to God to be delivered.

God knows and understands and does not condemn us – He wants us to want Him and be swayed by the truth of His eternal Word not the world’s temporary lies. He loves it when we agree with David, who prayed in Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit in me". And Paul, who said in Romans 7:24-25, "wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" And John in 1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

We are stained and soiled and dirty and needing a bath spiritually. Thank God the blood of Christ cleanses.