This is the harbor about 3 blocks from our house. It is at dusk.
Hello, all--Had another thought from the laundry bin. (Can anybody say, family of 7 X 1 outfit per day X 7 days per week, plus an extra outfit per day for two girls who just HAVE to change at least once, which comes to, roughly, 63 outfits per week????) Is it any wonder the Lord talks to me at the laundry line---where do I spend a good deal of time?? Ha!
Any way, I was looking at a light-colored tee shirt thinking, "That looks clean enough. If I didn't know how it was supposed to look, I would think it was clean. I must say, more than a few of our clothers have taken on such characteristics. Still, I'm sure they look better than if I was beating them on a rock at the nearby harbor! A few days later, I was reading a book by Dallas Willard who pointed out how accustomed we are to sin. His point was that we need the Holy Spirit to even recognize what needs to be cleansed. We are so acclimated to the grunge of this world; the deep stains of unforgiveness and bitterness in our own hearts; the failures that we cringe away from facing; the besetting sin that we hide from in shame; the hypocrisy of the mask that we wear to conceal our real selves from others...that we forget the bright whiteness of the robe that He put on us at the cross. We have let it become just a tad tinged with smudges and dirt. We brush and spot-clean, and hope that it is unnoticeable to those around us. Or, we try to comfort ourselves that at least it's not as dingy as someone else's.
In the depth of my heart, I do not want to live like that! I want to be washed daily. I want His clothing on me to be so bright that the least streak of dirt is intolerable to me. I want the "vivid colors and the bright whites" that can only come from the heavenly bleach of God's own Son. May all your clothes be clean with the righteousness that comes from knowing Christ.
Grace and peace!
