John 13:8 “…Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’”
Dust! It’s everywhere! It’s everywhere! This was an accurate description of my home after workers came to install a new heating system in our 200 year old farmhouse. The sawing and drilling left a gritty residue on everything from the keyboard on my computer to the clothes in my closet. And on top of that, the weather was calling for a dusting of snow and I was reading through a student’s research paper on the Dust Bowl. I was swimming in a sea of dust.
It was the kind of dust that’s hard to pick up. I would wipe off a piece of furniture only to find it covered again minutes later. I vacuumed, mopped and scoured, wondering if my house would ever sparkle again. Evidently, disposing of plaster dust requires more than the light cleaning I was used to.
Kind of like what happens when our souls need scrubbing…
God allows major upheavals in our lives as part of the construction, or should I say—reconstruction—process that takes place when we are born again. We get hammered, hacked, and shaken. And when the dust settles, like the sun streaming through a window, God makes visible all the dust particles we never knew were there. Particles like selfishness, jealousy, insecurity, pride, worry….We thought we needed a light cleaning. We needed so much more.
We still do. I don’t know about you, but my soul continues to get dusty. My futile attempts to clean up never succeed in getting rid of all the scum. I need something bigger than me. Something purer. Something full of grace and truth….
When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, Peter initially resisted. He didn’t recognize his need. He must have thought his feet (and soul after three years with Jesus) looked pretty good. Left everything to follow the Lord—check. Walked on water—check. Drove out demons—check. Called the rock on which the church would be built—check. With those kinds of creds it would be hard for anyone to recognize the dust within!
But the Lord exposed Peter’s lack, and he responded with unabashed abandon… “Then, Lord…not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (John 13:9).
So how is your soul these days? Is it a bit dusty? I know a good Cleaner-upper….