It's Time To Wash Your Hair

I

 remember the touch of my mother’s hand when I was a little boy.  Most of the time, mom’s touch was gentle and affectionate. There were times, however, when her touch was a little stronger, like when I insisted on having my way over hers, bad move on my part!!  I remember that mom’s hands were always busy, preparing meals, washing clothes, cleaning house, or sewing.  But her hands were never too occupied or too tired to attend to scraped knees, running noses, or hurt feelings. Many times as I lay in a hospital bed, the mere touch of her hand did more than all the nurses and medications combined.

One of the things I remember most about mom’s touch happened on Saturday evenings.  We had the same ritual.  I would get my bath, and then mom would put me up on the kitchen counter, have me lie on my back, and she would wash my hair in the kitchen sink.  I remember her hands supporting my head as it hung in mid-air over the sink.  She always talked to me while she washed and we would joke, tease, and laugh during the whole process. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t always a bunch of roses.  In the summer time, when I had been outside playing, I would get sand and grit all in my hair.  When it came time to wash it out, it wasn’t fun.  Mom’s hands, though soft and reassuring, were also relentless in their determination to find every grain of sand in my head.  With my head dangling over the sink, she used both her hands to lather, search, scrub, and scratch, until every grain of sand was gone.  When I got up from the counter, I knew my head was completely clean, not only because I could feel it, but because mom had washed my hair and I knew nothing had escaped her attention.

In Psalm 51, David records the same experience, except David isn’t having his hair washed and his mom isn’t doing the honors.  Instead, David prays to God to cleanse his soul, to find anything and everything that makes his life spotty and unclean.  This entire Psalm was written after David’s adultery with Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11). Knowing he has done wrong and knowing he cannot cleanse his own heart, David comes before God’s throne and ask his Heavenly Father to make him clean. 

David knows the process will not be pleasant but he also knows that when God is finished he will be completely clean.  David’s specific request is found in Psalm 51:7 “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Read the last three words again very slowly and think about them.  What can be whiter than snow?  Yet David says that is exactly how clean he will be when God finishes with him.  David asked God to look into every nook and cranny of his life, to find all the grains of sin that were making it spotty, and to remove them. 

If you have ever asked God to cleanse you, then you know just how probing His hands can be.  They relentlessly search for the smallest speck of sin and they scrub and scrub, until it is completely gone. Although this is not the most enjoyable aspect of our relationship with God, it is one of the most productive.  God will not stand for any sin to stain our lives!  He has zero tolerance for sin because He knows that, left alone, it will continue to soil our lives and affect our relationship with Him.

When mom was washing my hair, she wouldn’t stop until she was satisfied all the sand was gone.  It didn’t matter if I was ready for her to be finished; the ordeal wasn’t over until she had removed all the sand from my hair.  She knew that if the dirt remained, it would be more difficult and more challenging to remove at a later time.  When it was time to wash my hair that is exactly what she did, right down to the last follicle.

If my mom would take such great pains to make sure my hair was clean, how much more important do you think our souls are to God?  With a loving touch, He searches us all over, making sure that our lives are free from sin.  Our part is to lie still and let Him work. He knows what He is doing, He knows what to look for, and He knows how to remove it from us.  But there is one proviso—we must ask Him to do it.  We must allow God to search us and cleanse us.  God is a gentleman and will not force Himself on us.  He waits until He is invited in and then He begins His work!

W

hen was the last time you asked God to wash you?  When was the last time you let Him really inspect every part of your life to see if sin was lurking in a hidden corner?  When was the last time you willingly let God cleanse you and make you whiter than snow?  Don’t you think it’s time to wash your hair today?