Dove Soap and Dirty Cups

If you walk into a Bath and Body Works store, you will become quickly overwhelmed with what seems like an infinite number of scents.  Each scent is transmitted in various forms, like lotions, sprays, hand sanitizers, wall plug-ins, candles, body washes . . . the list goes on and on!  

As the vast majority of the population has made the shift from bar soap to liquid body wash, that is one thing that has yet to change in my house.  I suppose that everyone has their "thing" that must remain constant. From Jif peanut butter, to Tide detergent, to Levi's blue jeans, some people are absolutely married to specific brand of household items.  One of my husband's undeniable affections is towards white Dove soap.  He remains completely faithful to his age-old friend, and I don't see this love affair changing anytime soon!

I guess we all have our preference in soaps, and from Japanese Cherry Blossom to the white Dove beauty bar, there certainly are no shortages in choices for cleansing products that will rid our bodies of filth.  However, I have been wondering if we are equally concerned with the filth on the inside.  

  

When I became a new Christian thirty years ago, I had placed in my hands a kid's version of a book called the "Survival Kit for New Christians."  My parents dutifully ensured that I completed each page, which showed me the importance of the decision that I had made.  Although I didn't realize it then, that book made a lasting impression on my understanding of what the Christian journey should look like.

This book introduced me to important Christian disciplines, like:

Daily Bible Reading,

Scripture Memorization

Prayer,

&

Quiet Time.

I was introduced to words, like:

Repentance,

Justification,

&

Sanctification.

As a 7 year-old, I could barely read the word "sanctification," let alone fully understand its meaning.  Thankfully, the author of this book knew that newly saved children wouldn't understand the word, so he provided pictures -- pictures that have stuck with me to this day.  The main picture used to describe sanctification was a bar of soap.  In layman's terms, sanctification is the process of allowing God to clean up the inside of our sin-filled selves.  

As a 7 year-old preacher's daughter, my insides didn't seem very filthy!  However, none of us stay 7 years old and innocent forever.  Before I knew it, I was being tempted with things of the world and I was feeling the nudge of the Holy Spirit to pick up that proverbial bar of soap and get things cleaned up.  

I am reminded of the strong illustration that Jesus used in Matthew as He chastised the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and for being so consumed with having the appearance of righteousness on the outside, all while the inside was filthy.   He said:

"Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."  Matt. 23:26-28

Ouch! Jesus didn't mince words! I don't think we have to question where He stands on the concept of sanctification. Jesus doesn't expect perfection out of His followers, however, these verses show us that He does expect us to be honest in our righteousness. If we are resembling followers of Christ at church or around our Christian friends, yet when they're not around, our language, our thoughts, or our temper doesn't resemble that of a sanctified believer, then Jesus would say that we're no better than the hypocritical Pharisees.  He would say that the outside of our cup might be spotless and shiny, but the inside needs some help.

Thankfully, Jesus is in the cup-cleaning-business!  He wants to clean up our poor choice of words, our propensity to fly off the handle, our negative or sinful thoughts, and anything and everything else that reveals the residue of sin in our lives.  As we head into a new week, I pray that we will be burdened by those areas that keep our cups dirty and that we will allow the Holy Spirit to begin the process of sanctification by scrubbing out those filthy spots that don't belong in a believer's life.  

I have a stockpile of Dove soap in my bathroom cabinet.  Maybe I should keep a bar of it in my purse to remind me of that perfect illustration for that hard-to-understand word that clearly showed me what God desires to do in every believer's life -- clean it up.