Feeling Dirty by Martin Wiles

Five days had passed, and I couldn’t wait to slither into a nice hot shower.

Only once in my life have I been more than two days without bathing. But presently my daughter and I were on a five day backpacking trip, and the only water available was for drinking and cooking-not washing. While we wiped down each evening, these “piggy baths” didn’t completely remove the dirt and sweat we accumulated from trudging over mountains. We felt more than a little dirty by the time we were through.

Sometimes, like the rock band Foreigner in their song “Double Vision”, I’m tempted to get a little spiritually dirty: Feeling down 'n' dirty, feeling kinda mean I've been from one to another extreme This time I had a good time, ain't got time to wait I wanna stick around 'till I can't see straight.

But the Bible cautions me otherwise. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh (Romans 13:14 NIV).

Christ’s bath has cleansed me of lust, impure and shameful desires, greed, anger, rage, malicious behavior, gossip, slander, dirty language, and lying. He replaced these dirty grains with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, and peace (Colossians 3: 5-15).

At the moment I chose to follow Christ, I was clothed in his righteousness, and washed of my sinful grime. And though this doesn’t make me perfect, it should remove any false feelings of feeling dirty along with any desires to be dirty. Having bathed, I should also be more sensitive to those times when I need to wipe off a few body parts.

Satan may occasionally tempt you to wallow in life’s dirt, but he can’t remove the lasting effects of Christ’s forgiveness bath.

Prayer: God of grace, mercy, and forgiveness, we thank You for the total cleansing we receive through Christ. May we daily live out the results of our bath through actions that honor You and enhance Your kingdom.

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