Is there an activity that you love but you have no idea why? I have one, pressure washing. I think it is because it is so rewarding. Quick turn around. The slow precise back and forth movement of the wand. Slowly watching line after line of the dirt and muck disappear. The end result being a brighter, more enjoyable surface more like the original color.

There’s a few things I’ve learned about pressure washing. There is a definite procedure if your desire is to clean the whole surface consistently. Sure you could swing the wand here and there but the outcome wouldn’t be the whole surface cleaned. I guess you could get the whole surface clean this way, but it would take much longer and the process would be tedious.

Have you noticed the surfaces that are under dripping water or the surfaces that don’t get much sun are usually thick black crud? Much more dirty than areas that don’t have constant contamination or areas that are exposed to the sun? When you pressure wash over those areas, the ones thick with gunk, the dirt spews and splatters on everything near it. Spreading it’s filth far and wide. And man, if you hit a crack in the concrete that hasn’t been washed out in years, everything within a few feet gets it. You then get to spray off all it affected and start back where you were. It can really add time and effort to the process.

It wasn’t that long ago that God spoke to me relating this to our lives. We are called to examine ourselves. To read the Word of God and determine where in our lives we have allowed sin to reside. If we have allowed sin to reside within us for prolong periods of time, without allowing the Son to shine on it, it’s like that super black area of concrete. The one where once it is sprayed the dirt flies far and wide. But just like washing these areas, once the time has been taken to clean those areas and the Son has shone on it, they show the biggest difference. The difference is so grand because the dirt was so thick. We often think that avoiding the sin in our lives will be better for all those around, but that is a thick black dark lie. A thick black dark lie that splatters farther and farther the longer is left to accumulate.

Taking the time read the Word the God, filtering ourselves and our lives through the words, allowing God to speak truth into us is a process. Just like the slow, consistent, line after line washing of concrete. Sure you can read your Bible here and there and claim a verse here and there – like the pressure washing example. But the process will be ineffective. The cleansing not complete. The outcome undesirable.

Lord I pray that you speak your truth to each reader. May our lives include consistent time in your word, examining ourselves to see if our faith is true. I pray that we choose to partner with the Son on every dark area of our lives and allow your sanctification to cleanse us. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen