To make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, shw will be holy and without fault. ~ Ephesians 5:26
The Word of God has the ability to wash us and make us clean. Most of us don’t go out and roll in the mud everyday. But most of us take a bath or shower at least once a day, because our bodies have the ability to make us unclean. You, as a Christian, probably don’t go out to pursue the filth and sin of this world each day. We are surrounded by enough impurities, however, and there are enough impurites inherent in ourselves, that we should realize our need to be washed clean everyday by time spent in God’s Holy Word.
Christ taught that we should pray each day for the forgiveness of our sins. That doesn’t sound to me like we need one cleansing at the time of our salvation, and we are set for life. We need continual renewing by the Word of God, by seeking first His righteousness, by listening to the Holy Spirit. As Peter said, we need Christ to wash not just part of us, but all of us.
Christ doesn’t want us acting, or being, just “sort of ok.” He isn’t looking to present Himself the spiritual equivalent of a kid who showered earlier this week. He is looking to present us, you and me, to Himself without spot or wrinkle, without blemish, actually glorious! He wants to wash us and cleanse us until we are pure!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for cleansing me, for giving me a completely new start on life. Remind me each morning, as I prepare myself physically for the day, to prepare myself spiritually as well. Lord, cleanse me of impurities and cloth me in Your righteousness! Wash me in the Blood of Jesus and make all thinks new! In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Further Reading: Matthew 6:9-13