Soul Cleanup

We told my son Bryan not to touch mommy's pretty thing. But he couldn't resist. He touched it. He accidentally broke it. He knew he was in big trouble. So he hid the broken pretty thing, and managed to stay under the radar for several days. We did not notice. But the guilty conscience was eating him alive. So he did what every 2nd grader would do. He stopped in to see the elementary school counselor. He told Mrs Patrick that he had done a terrible thing and that "if mom ever finds out she will kill me."

She found out. And 15 years later he is still alive.

A guilty conscience is a terrible thing. Secret sins tend to gnaw away at us. When we sin we feel horrible, rotten, sometimes even wretched. We feel unclean, dirty, like one of those guys in the mud pit at the renaissance festival. We need a fresh start and a good cleanup.

David felt dirty. He had sex with a married woman. He got her pregant. He attempted to cover it up. Eventually he had her husband murdered. He had used his kingly power in an abusive way. He had demonstrated scumball behavior.

In Psalm 51 a repentant David begs God to "cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow." God did.

Here's a spiritual truth you can bank on: God wants to take your dirty soul and restore it to purity. He can make you clean again: spotlessly white. He delights in forgiving and showing mercy. And all that is required is a broken and contrite heart.

This is the good news that is central to the Christian message. This is Amazing Grace.

This week take a fresh look at Psalm 51. And for good measure check out II Samuel 11-12. See what you and David have in common. Talk to God about your sins. And be cleansed.