Sanitize more than hands

How clean do you keep your hands? Hand hygiene has certainly gotten a lot of attention lately. It reminds me of one of my favorite Shakespearean scenes — Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking after she has orchestrated the murder of her king. In her sleep she sees spots of blood on her hands and no amount of washing can remove them. She smells blood on her hands and “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten” them. Of course it is her conscience and not her hands that is really unclean.

What do you do to try to clean your conscience? Do you focus on literal hygiene or orderliness? Do you try to cover up the guilt with activity? Do you numb the guilt with wine? Do you convince yourself you are not guilty at all?

The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “if we confess our sins to Him [God], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

The beautiful paradox of the gospel is that, it is only when we admit our guilt that we can be cleansed of it. The worst thing you can do with your guilt is ignore it. It will grow in the dark. It will find its way to get to you. The best thing you can do with your guilt is confess it to God. He will not meet your humble sorry with anger. He will open His arms to you with delight. He will forgive you. And He will cleanse you from every wrong thing that has stained you.

So take the time now to sanitize something even more important than your hands, confess your sins to God and be forgiven.

Bible verse: 1 John 1:9 “if we confess our sins to Him [God], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness“.

Prayer: Dear God help me to see my guilt. Help me to bring my guilt to you. I confess I have done wrong and I am guilty before you. Please forgive me and cleanse me in Jesus’ name.

Acknowledgement: This article was sourced from Outreach Media, Sydney, Australia.
Images and text © Outreach Media 2021

Posted June 2021