A Good Soaking

The meal was over, the table was cleared, the leftovers were placed into containers and stored in the refrigerator, the dishes were washed, and the only things left to clean were the baking dishes used to prepare the evening meal.  These had seen the worst of the action and displayed the heaviest battle damage.  A heavy, baked-on crust covered most of the dishes and there was a residue from the food that had been placed in them.  Getting these dishes cleaned was going to be no easy task and to that end, they had been filled with water and allowed to soak.

The water had slightly loosened the baked on stains but no progress had been made in actually making the dishes cleaner.  So they were placed into the hot dishwater for a good soaking before they were washed.  While in the dishwater, an interesting process occurred.  The stubborn, baked-on mess began to pull loose from the dishes so they could be cleaned.  The longer they remained in the dishwater, the more stuff came off and the easier they were to clean.

By the time a dishrag was applied to the surface of the baking dishes, the grease and the stains simply came off with minimal effort.  It would have taken so much muscle, so much sweat, and so much time to clean the dishes had it not been for soaking them in the hot dishwater.  In fact, had it not been for the soaking, no amount of rubbing, scrubbing, or buffing would have thoroughly cleaned the dishes.  What they needed was something that could remove and eliminate the stains, not simply remove only a part of them.

If we look very closely today, we will find a wonderful analogy of salvation and the cleansing power of Christ’s blood in the life of the believer.  Before we become Christians, our lives resemble these baking dishes.  Life has coated us and stained us with so much sin that it is impossible for us to become clean on our own.  All attempts to remove the stain ourselves end in failure and we end up no better off for all our efforts.  We need something that will remove and completely eradicate these stains from our lives and that something is the blood of Jesus Christ.

In 1 John 1:7 we read the following words, “But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.”  If we read very closely we will see that John is inviting us to experience a good soaking in the Lord on a daily basis.  The blood of Jesus Christ saves us and it is powerful enough to remove every stain sin has placed on our lives no matter how baked-on or caked-on it happens to be.  After we are clean, however, we need to remain in contact with our Lord and that is where the truth of this verse comes to light.

Notice that John says that if we are living in the light of God’s presence, we will have fellowship with each other and that Jesus’ blood cleanses us.  In fact, this verse is actually rendered that the blood of Jesus Christ goes on saving us.  In other words, Jesus blood not only works to remove the sin from our past but it continues to work to remove all future sins as well.  As we live daily for him we continually remain in God’s presence and “soak up” all the wonderful things he has planned for those who love him.

Where are you in this story? Are you in the oven being baked, are you on the counter top with the other dishes waiting to get into the water?  Are you trying to remove all the gunk in your life by yourself?  If you are in any of these places, I invite you to make your way to the sink and enter the dishwater.  Only there will you be cleaned and only there will you be made useful for God’s purposes.  How about a good soaking in the Lord today?  Come on in, the water’s just fine!