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Clean Waste

I'm not sure exactly why I do it. I suppose it's the 'right' thing to do, and if I didn't, someone might call the authorities- then I'd be in big trouble. Of course I'm talking about giving my dog a bath. It's not that giving him one is so bad, it's just that right after he's squeaky clean, he then excels at locating the muckiest muck and making a mockery of my lathering labors.

It happened just the other day. I had the decency of taking him ('him' being Cinamon, my 1 year old Golden Retriever who pretty much has a pig complex) to the lake for a walk. I even let him off the leash so he could do a little searching, when instead he did a lot of sprinting...right into the lake...the worst part of the lake...the part we call 'scum central'. So anyway, out comes my once clean canine with a nice two tone fur job: streaming strands of flowing fur on top- mounds of miry mud below.

About an hour later, my kids and I had Cinamon clean as a whistle. Does he thank us? No. Does he play fetch out of gratitude? No. Does he take a nap and bask in the sun of sanitation? That would be no.

He gives me one sly look and finds the dirtiest part of the yard, where he proceeds to roll around until he's covered with dirt.

Hmmm...that made me think of Christians. The ones who have had the stain of sin removed from their souls; yet continue to invent new ways to get 'muddied up'.

Have you ever thought about how God feels when He has gone to all the trouble to make us righteous, but we go out of our way to find 'scum central' in our words, attitudes, and actions? Perhaps that's why He tells us:

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is." (Romans 12:1-2)

Remember, the very instant you confess your sin, God wipes the slate clean. Remember also that the point of a clean slate is not to get it dirty again.

God truly wants to bless us, but nobody likes the smell of a wet dog.

Questions:

  1. Are you like Cinamon? Why or why not?
  2. What particular 'scum central' attracts you the most?
  3. How does God's forgiveness motivate you to love more righteously?