Clean as you go

I was thinking of my friend Carey the other afternoon. I was up to my elbows in cookie baking and the kitchen was a mess. Carey's voice rang in my ear, from waaaay back when, when we were roomates in college. I heard her say, "*CAYG! Clean as you go, Karen!" I smiled at the air and thought (lovingly),

Neat freak.

Somewhere in the middle of a sleepless night it came to me. THIS IS HOW WE NEED TO MAINTAIN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.

Then I fell back asleep.

This morning, after getting three kids and one dog out the door, drinking two cups of coffee, returning four text messages, and doing a blogging read-by, I sat down with my bible.

I'm not sure why, but I'm continually amazed when God does this. Today's reading was on this very subject.

No, Jesus did not clean as he went, Carey.

He did tell us to, though. I'm pretty sure the full message would have been lost on me had I not had the very recent experiences of both Carey and God whispering in my ear. I probably would have blown right past the first chunk of John 13:10, which says:

Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean."

Huh?

I got out some handy references and did a bit of research. Here is what I learned. The words bathed and washed are translated from two different Greek words (I can't figure out how to write them, or I would). The first indicates a religious ceremonial washing, like what was required of the Jews before coming into God's presence. The second, though, is commonly used in New Testament (NT) translation as the word for washing hands or feet.

Work with me, people.

Jesus death on the cross eliminated the need for ceremonial washing (and sacrifice, He being the ultimate sacrifice). Once we are "in Him" (i.e. believers in his death and resurrection for our sins) we are ultimately clean and have open access to God. Our acceptance of Jesus as our Savior effectively cleanses us of ALL our sin and puts us right before God.

However.

We continue to sin. We mess up, fall down, lapse, deviate, offend, wander, transgress on a daily basis. This dirties our hands, so to speak. Practically speaking, it puts distance between us and God.

Are you still with me? Take a deep breath, and ponder for a moment...

Cleaning as you go.



*more on CAYG next time.