Laundry...we all have it if we have
clothes. We in the States are very conscious of our cleanliness when
it comes to our bodies and our clothes. We hardly go a day without a
shower, and seldom, if ever, wear our clothes twice in a row without
sending them through the washer and dryer (or hang them out to dry). Some
of us obsess about stain-treaters and fabric softeners, some make our
own detergent or shop for the ONE that we think does the job of
cleaning for us. And some of us avoid doing it at all costs until we
are literally out of underwear...like my dear daughter...who will
remain nameless, but is the 3rd child, if you know us.
The laundry basket comes home from
college filled with weeks-worth of assorted filthiness. Some things
have little problem, and some are soggy and smelly. But all need to
be washed. There are ways to wash clothes in most
households...sorting according to color, weight of fabric and
delicacy, hooks, decorations, or levels of stain or smell. To child
number 3, this is not an issue. I know this because one day I heard
the washer making sounds it never had, only to open the lid to find
the entire basket stuffed inside to the point where the water
couldn't cover it and nothing could agitate. Nothing was going to get
clean that way, so at least half of the soggy mess was unloaded so
that true cleaning could take place. But at least she knew they all need washed before they could be worn again. How to wash them was the issue. And it is our issue as humans with sin in our lives. Only Jesus can wash us in His blood to cleanse us. If we try to cleanse our sin any other way, it would be like those clothes had they been left to "wash" (if the washer didn't break down first). They would still be dirty and unwearable, regardless of her intent to the contrary.
“Blessed are those who wash their
robes, so they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter
the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14. This is the last
blessing God pronounces on His people in scripture, that those who are cleaning
their garments are welcome into His kingdom. Doing laundry qualifies
us to enter into the New Jerusalem, the city of God! No dirty clothes
allowed. No stench of sin clinging to our robes (remember Jude 23
about hating garments polluted by sin) is allowed. We are invited to
a royal feast at the tree of life and to drink at the water of life
(Christ Himself), and we are not going in in our work clothes. We are
to clean our robes in the Blood of the Lamb, and thus make ourselves
presentable before the Lord. We have to see that they are dirty,
agree that they are not presentable before the Lord, and wash them.
Sin has to be rinsed away before eternal life is given and we are allowed in the Master's presence. God was
merciful in not letting Adam and Eve eat of the tree of life for they
would have been eternally sinful. But the renewal of the washing of
the Word cleans us and gives us and them new life, that our eternal life may
be lived sinlessly before God for all eternity.
The sad part is that many choose to wear their dirty clothes, not wanting to take the time to do the laundry.
Back then, you had to haul it to the river or bring the water home,
wash and rub and scrub, wring, hang to dry while keeping the pests
and birds off of them. Stains had to be rubbed until gone or they
would be set for life. And the blood stains from the trip to the
temple...those would probably make some small, but permanent marks.
They were marks of spiritual cleansing, but bought at the price of
the blood of something innocent of their sin. Laundry was work. Face
it...we have it pretty easy in comparison. The dust was probably
pretty thick, the hems dirty and fraying over time. After days of
wearing the same things over and over, the smells would require
several rinses. Don't we just have the tendency to say, “It will
just get dirty again, so why bother?” I will just sin again and
make myself dirty, so let's just wait and clean this mess up at a
later date? No, we need to be ready, cleaning daily to prevent the
stains from setting in and making us more careless about our
appearance. Once clothes are stained, our behavior in them changes.
We use them for jobs where more staining will most likely happen. My
husband's garden jeans seldom get washed because they are used for
the dirty job. He would never consider wearing the suit pants out to
dig in the dirt. We feel fine about getting dirty when we live in the
dirt and the clothes are already dirty. We are far more careful about staying out of the dirt when we
are clean. Staying clean helps give us the mindset that we are better
off staying clean. We don't want to ruin good, clean clothes. We
don't want to try to tiptoe through the mud in a formal dress. We
avoid the mud. That is also how our souls work. The cleaner we are,
the more guarded we are about getting dirty. Once we are soiled, we
let our guard down and think, “Oh,well,” and proceed into things
that would have been unthinkable just moments before.
And we can't just stuff the washer and
hope it takes all the dirtiness away. We have to sort things our, let
the water saturate, let the machine agitate, and let the filters and
tubes take the dirt, lint, and unclean water away. Water and soap
alone will not do the job.
We wash our robes to make the one who
cleansed us happy...you don't put dirty clothes on a clean body. And
when He cleans us and we clean our robes, we can enter in and enjoy
everything that the new life has to offer!
Amen, and you might want to post this
verse over your washing machine...it may make laundry a joy and not a
burden, as well as remind you to do a little internal cleansing as
well.
No comments:
Post a Comment