A WORD FOR TODAY, March 7, 2023
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, March 7, 2023
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, WEB
I don’t know why, but there are videos that pop up on Facebook that fascinate me. I love to watch the ones where people put icing on cakes, although those make me want to eat the icing! I have recently been watching woodworkers turning items on a lathe. I especially like the ones where they use resin. It is amazing how they can make such beautiful things out of such unexpected materials. I have also gotten caught up with videos from rug cleaners.
The videos show a filthy rug in a clean space. The area rugs are often black with dirt, so dirty that you can’t even see the colors or patterns. One had been in a fire and another was outside, frozen to the ground. The process is lengthy, beginning with a water spray down. They then pour soapy water and use a machine to get the dirt out. One step is never enough. And one process is never enough. After the machine, the rug is sprayed down again, or the cleaner uses a squeegee type of broom. Then they put more soap and use the machine again. Over and over again. Eventually they turn the rug over and go through the same processes. Every so often, they clean the dirt from the floor. There are different types of machines. They move the tools in different directions. The videos usually last 5-10 minutes, but the process actually takes hours.
The first time I watched, I didn’t really understand why they did the same thing over and over again so many times. Isn’t one or two steps enough? Yet, as I watch these videos, I can see that even after multiple sprays with the hose and runs with the machines, the water draining off the rug is still dirty. It isn’t as dirty as the first step, but it is obvious there’s still work to do. The end result is always amazing. The rug in the beginning is black with dirt, but as you watch the process, you can see they are colorful with pretty patterns. The rugs often look like new.
I don’t know why I like to watch, but those rug cleaning videos remind me of God’s work in our lives. We think it is enough to clean the surface of our lives, to make superficial changes that appear to make us better. We realize that there’s more work to do, more dirt to rid from our lives, so we accept His continuing work. There comes a time, like when I’m watching those videos, that it seems the work is over. Yet, there’s always still dirt hidden below the surface. Just when we think God is done with us, He pours another layer of soap and scrubs us again. Unlike the area rugs, however, we’ll never be completely clean until the day He takes us home.
What is most interesting about those videos is that the person doing the cleaning has to get right down into that dirt to make it clean. Isn’t that what Jesus did for us? As we wander through our wilderness this Lent, we are reminded daily that we need God to keep working in our lives, removing that which is hidden beneath the surface; sometimes we don’t even realize how much needs to be cleaned. We are forgiven of our sin by the grace of Jesus Christ, made clean at the Baptismal font, but there is still work to do. God is faithful to do it, to strip from us layer after layer of filth, sanctifying us according to His promises.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org