Whitewashed or washed white?
We’re living in a day of cover ups. If you’re as old as I am, you remember whitewash. In the Tom Sawyer story we’ve all read where Tom was whitewashing a fence and through some deceptive maneuvering convinced several of his friends to finish the job for him. Whitewash was used often to freshen up fences or structures. It’s a mixture of water and lime with some cohesive ingredient. To whitewash is to cover up. Webster says, “an act of glossing over or exonerating.” If the rain came before it set, it would drop to the ground. When allowed to dry, it gave the building or fence a new look – a surface beauty that brightened the neighborhood. It was easily rubbed off and eventually fell to the ground in little pieces.
Our experience in Christ must be more than surface. We’ve got to be more than a land-fill covered with snow. When the snow melts, the trash is soon exposed again. To be white washed is to admit that the gospel is true, to confess that God is good, that He is worthy to be praised and to be served. You confess your allegiance to Him, but the depth of experience and change is not there. There’s got to be a purging, a complete wash down. In the body shop business, they at times have to get down to the bare metal and start over.
In Psalms 51, David prayed for 2 things: Forgiveness and Cleansing. Would you argue with me that many times we stop too soon? We encourage people to seek for forgiveness “Lord, forgive me Jesus. I’m sorry for my sin” but we stop there. What I want to tell you and remind myself today is that you can never be happy without cleansing. You can’t be cleansed till you seek forgiveness, but you not only must be forgiven, but also washed white! David said, “Blot out my sins, and wash me and cleanse me!” The forgiveness is on the basis of God’s mercy - giving me something that I don’t deserve. He’s not saying “take it easy on me God – it’s my first offense – look at my good points and my good marks – I mean, it was a tough one – nobody could have made it”. David called on God just like the lowest of the low. There was no self-righteousness. There were no excuses. He didn’t blame his wife for his loneliness, or say “I needed some attention.” If you are hiding excuses, there will be no forgiveness. Jesus is looking for total surrender. It’s wonderful to be forgiven – whether by a wife or husband or a friend or a creditor. It’s sweet. But however sweet the sound, it doesn’t remove the spot. David wanted a thorough job – bare metal, if you please! His prayer was “cleanse me – wash it out.” Apply your Heavenly spot remover. Help me to be clean from wrong passion and fleshly appetites! That’s what Paul meant when he prayed “Sanctify me wholly,” I Thessalonians 5:23. I’ll not be satisfied till I know that I know that I know that I’m cleansed!
The bottom line: before God can do the complete job on you, you’ve got to come to Him, broken and willing. There His love can heal you. The king’s horses and the kings men can’t put Humpty together again. But the KING can do it!
To be clean and pure before God is the best way to live! It’s the only way to live!Fall toward God. Fall into His arms just as you used to fall toward sin. He’ll clean you up today!