Clean because of. . .

Think of miners emerging from the depths of their work. Depending on their quest, the mine may be filled with coal dust if not the dust of the earth. Their faces are grimy, but their eyes are clear and shiny. How can that be? This happens because a fountain of tears from their lachrymal glands constantly pours its gentle bath over the eye, cleansing away every speck of dust as swiftly as possible.
 

Today’s devotional reading uses the eyes of miners to illustrate the miracle of cleansing in my life by the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit of God. When I am at work in this sin-filled world, sometimes I’m the source of some of that sin. Yet because I believe in Jesus Christ, I can step into the light again and again, washed from my sin.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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 cleanses us from all sin. If we say 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. (1 John 1:5–9)

In the Bible, light is the metaphor for no sin, clarity of spirit and truth. Jesus is the Light of the world because He has no sin and because He and His Word shed light on my life. His light shows me what I need, when I sin, when I need to confess and forsake sin, and how to be a person of truth and integrity.

When I am walking in the light, there are no barricades between God and me, or God’s people (who are also walking in the light) and me. There are no lies or deceptions, no resentments or bitter feelings. Being cleansed from sin includes forgiveness, but it also includes another kind of light, that light feeling that comes from having no cares or burdens. How wonderful!

How to get there is easy. Ask God to reveal any sin in me. Read the Word of God and pay attention. He might also use circumstances or the words of others to do the revealing. When I see it, confess it for what it is, which is the equivalent of walking out of a dark place into an illuminated freedom. The rest is His job. He forgives and washes — and although I may express my regrets and sorrow with tears, I do not even need to cry.

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Lord, this is the most basic reality in the Christian life. We sin; You fix it. We get dirty; You wash us. Thank You.