God is The Cleanser

It is about 350am and I find myself unable to sleep. So, I logged onto to Facebook, checked the news, and then perused a friend's blog. This friend is 3 years my senior, and a girl whom I've known my whole life. She and my sis are best friends. My friend is a widow and the mother of their young son.

I was catching up on the last few blog entries that I hadn't read, and one thing stood out to me. It was in a blog talking about how Christ called the Pharisees "white washed tombs", and I realized that I needed to do some praying.

A white washed tomb is something that appears to be clean and fresh. It looks good from afar, and even from close inspection it looks good. It isn't until you get inside, to the heart that you smell the stink of decay.

Many of the sins I struggle with are not ones that you will see when you look at me from afar. My sin struggles are mostly internal. While the general public may not see them, and I can even hide them from friends, God and I both know they are there. It is important that I realize there is decay and stink caused by my sin. I need to acknowledge it, confess it, and get it the heck out of my life. Sin should not allowed to stay.

It humbles me and excites me to know that God is the cleanser. If I confess and truly repent (strive to not give into the sin again) God will forgive me. He will take away the decay, and I can transform from being a tomb to being a sanctuary. Sanctuaries are places of worship, a place where God is welcome, they are His home. Sanctuaries represent life. Tombs house the dead. We can all be cleansed and be places where God is at home. Now longer do we have to remain tombs. God wants to cleanse us. God wants to turn us into sanctuaries, places that start out gleaming, and through maintenance are cleaned regularly.

Have you been cleansed? Do you make sure you are staying clean?

-JLP-