Faith Words: Clean

I washed the car Wednesday. But before I washed it, I washed it. Between the aphids and the birds my car was a mess. Add a few sandstorms and I could barely see out of the windshield. 

So I got a bucket of hot soapy water, some rags and my ladder and I scrubbed the front windshield and the rear windshield. The grill was nasty with dead bugs so I put some elbow grease into it and got off the worst of that grime. The car wash machines never get the rear license plate clean either, as well as the lift gate handle and rear camera. There. That’s most of it. Off to the car wash. 

There was no line. The equipment seemed to be working well. Two guys used scrub brushes at the entrance and two more wiped the clean car dry at the exit. (Anybody else get panicky trying to line up the left wheel with the track?) 

After it was dry, I drove to the vacuum area. Acorns, dry grass and somebody’s gray hair were packed onto the floor mats and carpet. And how does a car get so dusty inside? Finally, I felt like I’d done enough and drove home in my beautifully clean car. 

I’ve been able to avoid the rain and steer clear of puddles. I park in the garage at home so no dew either. Then Saturday night, while visiting a friend, my car got rained on. As soon as I got back home and parked in the garage, I got out the drying towels and ladder and went to work drying the car off. First the windows, then the hood, lift gate, and sides.  There now. No water spots. Nothing for the sand to cling to. 

But I know when I hit the streets, there’ll be a puddle or the sand will be blowing or a bird drops its little gift on my windshield. My car won’t stay clean. 

I’m a lot like my car. I start the day reading my Bible and praying to God for His love and forgiveness. But it’s hard to keep my heart clean in a world like ours. Profanity, sexual content, and violence fill our screens, selfishness and anger our streets. Then, before I know it, I’m covered with a film of complacency and tolerance. I get so used to looking at life through that film that I don’t even notice anymore. Everything sticks to it and the dirtiness of the world with it. So I return to God time and again to be cleansed. 

The only way to stay clean is to park my heart in the garage of His light and love where His word and His blood keep wiping the filth off, making me clean. 

Parked in Him. 

Patrice

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.