Bath Time!

When I was young bath time was an exciting time of imaginative adventure – especially when mom let me do the “bubble bath”. I would gather boats of all shapes and sizes, with as many toy soldiers and military vehicles as I could carry, as the hot water filled the tub with piles of thick dish soap bubbles. Wars and espionage occupied the time as I soaked in the warm water playing with my toys and setting aside mom’s instruction to “wash thoroughly” before getting out.

By the time all the boats had been scuttled and my fingers and toes were completely “pruney”, mom would be knocking at the door announcing that she was coming in for inspection. Bath time was over! Even though my activity had been successful in removing much of my accumulated dirt – as evidenced by the dark ring forming around the tub – mom, after a quick look, would always find “dirt” that needed to be scrubbed in order to come off. Whether it was behind my ears, or in my hair, or the necklace of “sweat beads” around my neck, she would offer me the choice of washing myself or she would do it for me! Washing brought an end to the carefree timer of leisure since the bar soap always caused the bubbles to disappear. In the end I was finally clean enough to put on my pajamas in preparation for bed.

The Bible speaks much about washing and purifying our hearts and lives. We need to spiritually wash ourselves  because of the daily unavoidable contact we have with a contaminated world, a world filled with selfish motivations. Those motivations will begin to cling to us and soil our thoughts and actions.

Many times as we “soak” in the variety of Christian entertainments and pastimes, much of the influences of the world are washed away and removed. Church, Christian movies, Christian music, Christian fellowship, Christian friendships and even Bible study all can soak away much of the world’s self-centered influence. But there is other “dirt” that can only be removed by cooperating with the Holy Spirit – aggressively scrubbing ourselves through repentance, obedience, correction and submissive yielding to Him. Only then can we “be holy as He is holy,” and prepared for the pure wedding garments of Jesus our bridegroom.

Teach us to purify our hearts, O God!

How exciting to be His people,

Pastor David Vanderpool