Dirty

It is laundry day today. We do not do laundry in the river like they do in the village, but we certainly have to deal with dust and dirt as we try to wash our clothing. Yesterday’s breakdown had us walking the dusty roads which left its mark on our bodies and on our clothing.  In the evening yesterday we quenched our thirst and cleaned our bodies, but today was the day to deal with our dust filled clothing.    It is a wonder how much dust can be absorbed by a simple walk. The clean water was transformed to mud simply by having a few pieces of dusty clothing immersed in it. 
How like our purity in Christ, it takes so little to eradicate our purity.  The marvel to me is that God is so totally aware of our ability to attract the dirtiness of sin unknowingly   This is why He provided us with a stain resistor. Upon our spiritual rebirth the Holy Spirit is given. He has the great and awesome job of purifying us and of making us aware of our griminess.  He also provides the washing powder for us to become clean as we confess and are immersed in the purifying water of Christ for washing and regeneration.
Sometimes the effort of connecting with the Spirit is as easy as turning on a washing machine in Canada, sometimes it takes a bit more effort like the wringer washer we have here in Banfora.  A bit of hard work is required to get things clean.  For some it is more like hauling laundry to the river and using rocks to pound the clothing to the beat the dirt out.  This final option of gaining pure cleanliness is not easy.   I would rather use a machine in Canada (or at any rate the most straight forward spiritual equivalent).