Nooks and Crannies

 

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

—1 John 1:8-9

“I’d like to go down to Grandma’s and help her clean today. I don’t think she sees as well as she used to and doesn’t see the dirt,” my mom said to my sister and me. Indeed, though my grandma kept a neat house, her glaucoma had diminished her eyesight to the point where sharp vision no longer allowed her to see the grime in the corners.

We all get used to seeing through eyes that no longer pick out the details of our “dirty” ways. God calls this dirt “sin.” He sent His Son, Jesus, to us so that He can purify us from all sin.

However, just as daily cleaning around the sink needs doing, we need a daily washing away of the filth we accumulate, even in a day’s time. Jesus addressed this idea to Peter when He said, in John 13:10:

“A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.”

With these words, Jesus indicates that, as Christians, He has washed us and made us clean. But, the sinful nature still clings to us and we frequently need to cleanse away this sinful act or that one. In my house, I abhor having to give anything a thorough cleaning now and then. Likewise, we seem to abhor coming to God with our filthy deeds and thoughts, asking for His cleansing.

We quite often have to work at this kind of examination of our hearts. And often, it means coming to God for a new, even repeated, cleansing. We need to use our “near-sighted” vision to see what God sees in us.

“Far-sighted” examination of our neighbors seems to come easier for us. Even Jesus observed that tendency in us when He said in the “Sermon on the Mount” from Matthew 7:3-5:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?”

As I recall, my grandma gratefully accepted the help to make her kitchen sparkle again. We, too, need to thank our blessed Lord Jesus Christ for the offer of His help in keeping our hearts and minds cleansed and ready for His use.

Happy cleaning!