Clean—What a Wonderful Feeling!
by Shirley D. Tingle
Think back to a time when you were either working hard cleaning something, or maybe goofing around outside, and you got really filthy dirty! I mean covered—hands, clothes, shoes, maybe even your hair and face were involved. In some cases, you may have gotten dirty as a result of making something else clean and having the yucky stuff land on you. Sometimes it’s fun to get dirty, especially if you get to fall down in the mud or make someone else get muddy. Well, sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn’t.
An incident happened to me at school many years ago that was neither work, nor was it fun—it was a foolish accident from which I learned a lesson. I had my kids (students) in line to walk up to the gym for P. E. but it had rained the day before. I like to take shortcuts to save time, so instead of walking them from the end of our hall all the way to the other end, up two flights of stairs, across the parking lot, and to the gym, I decided to go out the end door (a few feet from me), across the grassy area that leads up to the gym. It’s a much shorter and quicker route. I left them there for P. E. and headed back across the grassy area, but just as I got closer to the door that we’d just walked out of, I slid down in the mud, ending up on my backside! I got up, looked around, (no one saw me), and slogged by way on inside the door. First stop—the restroom (which was on the other end of the hall). After using many wet paper towels to try to clean my muddy pants, I had another problem—wet, dirty pants! I asked one of my fellow teachers if I could borrow his heater for a little while. After unsuccessfully trying to dry my pants, I was running out of time. It was almost time to go get my class from P. E. I breathed a sigh of relief when another teacher, who lived near the school, offered to go home and get me a pair of pants to wear for the rest of the day. Although I was a little mismatched, I was clean and comfortable, and the lesson I learned stuck with me: When it has rained, go the LONG way to P. E.! I can laugh about it now.
There’s just something about fresh, clean water and sudsy soap that when combined makes washing up a pleasant experience. We’ve been taught from a very early age about washing our hands. We’re also taught about germs—that even though we can’t see them, they’re everywhere, on every surface, and can be spread. Our mothers bathed us and then taught us to bathe ourselves—to keep ourselves clean for the best possible appearance and health. And think of how clean and refreshing it feels after a long, hot, sweaty, grimy day of some activity to finally get that bath or that shower you were dreaming about. When you’re done, you’re like a new person—refreshed, relaxed, renewed, and most of all—clean!
The whole earth had to be cleaned once. It was “unclean” because of man’s extreme wickedness. Genesis 6:5-6, KJV, says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” If we continue reading Genesis chapters six and seven, we see that God brought a great flood upon all the earth, effectively wiping out all human life that wasn’t aboard the ark that Noah built, and all the animal life that lived upon the land as well. God “cleaned” the earth of sinful men, and tasked Noah and his family with replenishing the earth, because “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD,” Genesis 6:8, KJV.
In Exodus we read about the building of the tabernacle, “the portable sanctuary carried by the Israelites in the wilderness.” [http://wwwdictionary.com, “Tabernacle: Definition of Tabernacle]. Before Aaron, the High Priest, or his sons could enter the tabernacle on behalf of the congregation, they had to be washed with water and have their holy garments put on them, Exodus 40:12-13, KJV. When the tabernacle was completed, and all the items were in place that the LORD had commanded, including the laver of water, Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet at the laver of the tabernacle. They washed again at the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses, Exodus 40:31-32, KJV. This shows that before coming to God to make animal sacrifices on behalf of the people, the priests were to be “clean” before God, as signified by the washing with water.
God has always wanted His people to be clean and to practice cleanliness. The book of Leviticus is filled with laws that God had for the Israelites as spoken by Moses. Many of the laws were about making sacrifices and offerings to the LORD. Many other laws dealt with personal cleanliness, hygiene, and health practices. The LORD has always known what’s best for His people throughout the ages. He gave specific instructions to them on how to keep themselves “clean” and sanctified before Him. It was each person’s responsibility to listen to and follow the words of Moses as spoken to him by God. God’s laws, His warnings, and His rules for living the best possible life seem to have always included cleanliness in some form—being clean, being cleansed in body, mind, and soul. And water has played a very big role.
Fast-forward to today, where we see water playing a role in being the medium through which we now complete our salvation. God uses water, something to which each of us can relate, to be the method by which we come in contact with Christ’s cleansing blood in baptism. For us to be “clean” and pure before God, our sins must be removed. The only purifying and cleansing agent for removing the filth of sin from our souls is the blood of Jesus Christ, our Savior. God’s great plan of salvation for us includes hearing His Word, believing His Word and that Jesus Christ is His Son; letting His Word convict us of our sins, so that we make the decision to do them no more, thus repenting; then from our lips, confessing before men, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; and finally being plunged beneath the water, a burial, a death to the old man of sin, in baptism, where the blood of Christ cleanses us, and we’re made clean before God, becoming a new creature in Christ. This act cleanses our souls because we have obeyed God’s commands concerning our soul’s salvation, and we become His children.
It’s just a fact of life that we all get dirty every day. We wash our hands many times a day, and we take a shower or bath at least once a day. Keeping ourselves clean is an on-going process. If we get lazy, skip a few days, and neglect our cleanliness, we can become quite a mess. That could become unpleasant, and someone’s bound to notice, and will most likely let you know about it. Getting clean may take some effort, but it makes us feel better, and it’s better for our physical well-being.
To care for our spiritual well-being, it’s of the utmost importance to follow God’s commands for cleansing our souls from sin. Having risen from the waters of baptism and knowing that the blood of Christ has cleansed us of all sins is a joyous event—a day to remember! To capture that feeling in a bottle and have it every day would be the best-case scenario. But this life is made up of pitfalls, roadblocks, detours, disappointments, sorrows, and temptations. Yes, Christians do fall. Yes, Christians, do sin. But the good news is that God is faithful to hear our prayers when we recognize and admit our sins before Him. We pray privately for forgiveness of private sins. We ask our brethren to pray for us and with us if we’ve sinned in a public way. Then, we’re refreshed and “clean” once again. Keeping ourselves “clean” from sin is an on-going process. Prayer becomes our lifeline to the Father, that keeps us in our saved condition. We can never get lazy or neglectful where our souls are concerned because Satan works overtime to bring down faithful Christians.
Is the saying, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” in the Bible? No, it isn’t. This old saying is attributed to John Wesley, and before him, to writings in the Talmud. [deseretnews.com, “9 Misquoted Bible Phrases,” Alicia Purdy]. It might better be said that “Cleanliness of the soul is Godliness, and Godliness is cleanliness of the soul.” I John 1:7-9, KJV, says: “But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Get clean, be clean, stay clean! Clean—what a wonderful feeling!