October 27, 2022 — The Dirty and the Clean

“Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” Mark 7:14-15

“Our words and our actions say it all, don’t they?! So let’s take seriously our use of language — both what we say and how we say it. Let’s also look at our lives and see what our actions say about our loyalty to God. We need to realize that our intentions matter for good only if we follow through on them! Repentance that is only a change of heart, but not also a change of behavior, is not really repentance at all.” (heartlight.org; What Jesus Did! ‘What Truly Defiles’; Mark 7:14-15; Tuesday, April 28, 2020)

When people go to great lengths to “appear” holy — I can’t help but allow my suspicions to enter my brain. Why must someone go to such lengths to make me think they are “holy”? Often, not always, but often it is an attempt to hide their own “dirt”. By dirt here I mean their own sinfulness, because they have no idea how to resolve their sinfulness with their need to be holy.

We have no need to put our “holiness” on a plate to hold out for all to see. Jesus is just as capable of loving us in spite of our “dirt” without our extensive attempts to cover that dirt. Instead, we should be getting dirtier working with those who have no more strength to hide their dirt because they have yet to understand what Grace is all about. You see, Grace is the “Heavenly Holy Hoover” — Grace is what sucks the dirt out of our lives and leaves us looking as clean as ever in the eyes of Jesus. This allows us to join Jesus in the back of the room sitting with the “sinners” and the “tax collectors” and learning from each other about the love of Jesus.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, bless me today so that by the power of your Spirit I can change my behavior and my values to reflect your holiness, grace, mercy, and righteousness more perfectly. Amen.

Pastor Dave