“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
I don’t know about you, but I think grandparents are some of God’s best angels here on earth. They are different from our parents, somehow not nearly as strict with us as they probably were with them. Every September since 1978, the first Sunday after Labor Day is celebrated as National Grandparent’s Day. When I think of my own, I remember them with a special place in my heart. For a number of years, I have had a copy of a writing entitled Grandma’s Apron. It talks about the apron which most of our grandmothers used for many things: “drying tears, cleaning out dirty ears, carrying eggs and kindling as well as apples that fell from the tree, wiping a sweaty brow, as well as a last minute dusting of the furniture when unexpected company arrived.” It ends by stating that: “They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I never caught anything from an apron…But Love.”
As much as I loved my grandma, I am sure if she was still around and had that old apron that it might give me cause for anxiety. Recently I went to dinner with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile but with whom I used to travel on a fairly frequent basis. No sooner had we ordered our meal, I pulled out an anti-bacterial wipe for each of us. It had now been a number of years since we journeyed together, but they laughed remembering how I always obsessed about sanitizing before I eat. After all – even though I washed my hands immediately before I left for the restaurant, God only knows what I may have touched since then. Let’s see there were my keys, the car, several door knobs, and the menu. Those who know me well don’t even think about playing that “Ten Second Rule” game with me whenever food is dropped on the floor. And why would anyone even consider “double dipping” their tortilla chip into the salsa once they had taken a bite off of it!
We do know for sure our world does contain harmful bacteria and viruses that if exposed to our body under the right conditions such as a weak immune system, our physical health may be compromised. Why, then, would we think that our spiritual journey would be any different? There are indeed secular contaminants, including those of doubt and unbelief, that can affect our walk with the Lord. I am so fortunate that God doesn’t look at me with the same set of eyeglasses through which I sometimes view the world. In fact, when I am unclean by the sin in my life and confess it, He purifies me with the blood of Christ. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
As Christians, we are faced with a dilemma: how to live in the world but also be detached from it. This is commonly referred to as being in the world but not of the world. “Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you'” (2 Corinthians 6:17). While we are expected to have an influence on those around us and encourage sojourners, it is important to be grounded in the Word and pray for wisdom so we are able to discern between good and evil. Just as grandma’s apron may become physically unclean with the many things it touches each day, we too are affected by spiritual uncleanness resulting from exposure to sin. While water and some good detergent may be used to wash away the physical dirt from an apron, the spiritual cleansing we need is not solely of our own doing. “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Just like grandma’s apron reaching out to take us in, it’s the ultimate proof that we are loved.
REFLECTION: Have you come to realize that spiritual cleansing is not something you can achieve on your own? How have you experienced God’s grace in your own life? How do you balance “being in but not of the world?” *For more about the Grandma’s Apron poem, go to http://amberskyline.com/treasuremaps/family-history/grandmas-apron-poem.html
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