October 17, 2008
Our youngest son is the primary “caregiver” to our cat which he has named Comet. When they play outside, he and his little sister spend a large portion of their time holding and petting Comet and have even convinced him that sliding down the slide is fun (their method of “training” was to climb up the slide with him slung over a shoulder and then slide down with the cat in their laps). I think that Comet was rather alarmed the first few tries but he gradually seemed to relax. In fact, we have since seen that remarkable cat on several occasions climb up the wooden ladder on his own and then scoot down the slide the way that they taught him.
Comet, who is as brave a cat as I’ve ever seen, doesn’t seem to mind at all the high level of active attention that our children lavish on him even though they’ll grab him and carry him like a sack of sugar all over the yard. He’s sure to win the “Patient Cat Award”… at least if it’s really an award.
Anyway, we smile at the sight of the children playing with the cat and the affection that they show him as they cuddle with him. But since he is an “outdoor cat” (due to one of our other children’s severe allergy to cats) and he likes to do outdoor kinds of things, we as parents naturally insist on regular (and thorough) hand washing each time they go back inside the house.
A good example occurred last week when our son and his sister returned from having played outside. Noting that Comet had spent most of the morning frolicking under the back porch, staining his white fur red with clay dust, our son had washed his hands and then emerged from the bathroom. His mother, Diane, stopped him as he walked by her and asked, “Did you wash your hands well enough?”
Our son reflected a moment. “Do you mean the ‘really dirty’ way?”
“Well, she answered, nodding her head solemnly. “The way we do when our hands are really dirty.”
“Do I have to?” our little Mr. Clean asked. She nodded her head again. He sighed, turned around and walked back into the bathroom. He turned on the water as he muttered to himself, “Man, what a waste of soap!”
When Diane had recounted to me their little conversation, I laughed. And then I thought about how it reminded me of Jesus’ conversation with the disciples when washing their feet in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the Bible.
“Jesus knew that the Father put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus answered, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean…’” (John 13:3-10 NIV).
The Scriptures of the Holy Bible teach us that Jesus, as God in human form, came to earth to bear the penalty of our sin in His body and that His blood, spilled as He hung dying on the wooden cross, is the only provision in all of creation available to humanity for the cleansing of the stain of sin (rebellion against God).
“… Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness…. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:22, 27-28 NIV).
Once we have placed our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are made clean as far as the Law goes. We no longer bear sin’s guilty stains. Even so, we find ourselves wading through the policies, paradigms, and practices of a world that is so completely alienated from God that it doesn’t even begin to perceive the depth of its guilt or uncleanness. And because we walk through this world, engaged constantly by its program of selfishness, we need a daily cleansing, so to speak, that we might enjoy daily opportunities to serve Him as well as the sweet pleasure of fellowship with Him.
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse(s) our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14 NIV).
Even children know to wipe their muddy feet on the front mat before entering their parents’ house (eventually). We, as God’s children, need also to “wipe our feet” frequently as we abide in a daily relationship with our heavenly Father. Fortunately, the provision given to us that cleanses us in the first place of our receiving Him as Lord and Savior is sufficient to keep us clean. Thus, we return again and again to Christ in the meditation of His Word and in prayer, recognizing that we aren’t perfect and that all our acts of unkindness and random thoughts of selfishness need to be “cleansed” so that our daily walk with God doesn’t cross over into presumption.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV).
Knowing that Jesus said in John 13:10, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean…”, we may rest in a supreme assurance that Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross can completely heal any spiritual rift that may mar our lives. How comforting to know that He loves us that much!
(Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past thirteen years and is the author of The Fairy Tale Parables: Classic Fairy Tales Pointing to God's Love and Truth. He is the pastor of Pathway Community Church and may be reached for comments or questions by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com).
