by Marni Hansel
Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
After ten long months of trying, Brian (our adult son with Down syndrome) has been consistently wearing his CPAP machine at night. At first we were rewarding him with little bags of peanut M&Ms, but as his times increased he was earning meals out at restaurants. When his doctor pointed out that these rewards were not helping him lose weight, we switched to cool gadgets as prizes.
Today, his black light pen arrived. Amazon said it was good for finding scorpions and pet stains. We don’t have scorpions and I didn’t really want to find pet stains, so I figured it would be fun just to shine it in a dark room and see what would glow. We went into the windowless powder room and closed the door.
Now I have never claimed to be a good housekeeper, but we do try to keep the powder room “guest-ready” at all times. To my eyes, it was not visibly dirty. Oh friends, the black light revealed the truth. I don’t want to gross you out, but suffice it to say, the purple glow lit up a splatter pattern all over the wall, floor, and toilet that had me running for the bleach spray. (Brian is absolutely delighted with this prize.)
I am the powder room. I tidy myself up and present a “nice Christian lady” image to the people who are “guests” in my life. I’ve gotten pretty good at appearing clean and shiny to the world. But here’s the thing: God sees the real me and his Word shines on my heart and reveals the truth. I’ve got sin splattered everywhere.
It turns out I’m not the only one who’s a mess. Whole chapters of Leviticus deal with God’s regulations for cleansing rituals. The scriptures make it pretty clear that we are all in desperate need of purification and atonement. In Psalm 51, David recognized his need for God to wash away the splatter made by his sin with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Leviticus 16 explains how every year on the Day of Atonement the High Priest had to make blood sacrifices of goats and calves for the sins of the people. The problem with all those rituals is that the cleansing was temporary and needed to be repeated. The people would always commit new sins, and the animal blood did not have the power of eternal redemption.
However, the writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 9 that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. The solution to the problem, of course, is Jesus. I can’t read Hebrews 9 without also hearing the voice of John the Baptist proclaim “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”
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11 But when Christ came as high priest … 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
This old hymn by Robert Lowry preaches gospel truth:
1 What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain:
O precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know;
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
2 For my pardon this I see:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this my plea:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]
3 Nothing can for sin atone:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Naught of good that I have done:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]
4 This is all my hope and peace:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]
Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was enough. His blood has the power to cleanse the splatter of all of my sins – past, present, and future. I love the lyrics to this hymn by Elvina Hall: Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
I’m ashamed to say that my powder room will be dirty again. Now I can use Brian’s blacklight to find what needs to be thoroughly cleaned. And although God is transforming me to be more like His Son through the process of sanctification, I know that I still sin daily. I need to read God’s Word, listen to the Holy Spirit, and pray for God to convict me of sin. As He illuminates it, I will pray and repent, confident in the wonder-working power of the blood of the Lamb to wash it away.
Dear Lord, my sin is ever before you. There is no hiding from the light of your Word. You have searched me and have known me. I repent and receive forgiveness through Your Son Jesus. Create in me a clean heart. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Amen.