Dirty Dishes — Again!

A sink full of dirty dishes is a part of all our lives. Today, it seemed that every time I went into the kitchen, another dirty dish was hiding in the sink! I washed the breakfast dishes, but in a very little while, a few cups had made their way back to the sink! Then came the lunch plates. I washed the lunch dishes. By midday, several cups, a glass and a bowl, and a frying pan was waiting for me in the sink!

I could easily loathe that sink! But wait, the sink is the place where dirty dishes are made clean again. The sink makes it possible for clean dishes to be put to good use once more. I must not despise the kitchen sink, because without it my dirty dishes would clutter every surface possible!

You and I are like dirty dishes. We come to Jesus and He washes us and makes us clean but in no time at all, we get dirty again. So we come and ask Him to forgive us and to clean us up again. He does, but what happens? Oh, no! We go and get ourselves dirty, yet again! It happens over and over! Getting dirty can be so disheartening that we begin to despise the act of getting clean! We make excuses as to why we don’t go quickly to Jesus for His cleansing.

That’s as foolish as despising the sink! In the Old Testament, David understood the need and the beauty of going to God for cleansing. He wrote in Psalm 51:2, “Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.” To be made clean; to be purified of all sin, is nothing to run away from, but something to be practiced everyday. Just think, our perfect and holy God is willing and always waiting for us to come and be washed again, and again, and again. He never tires of our coming. In fact, the Bible tells us that He understands our weaknesses. He is always hoping that we will come to be washed in His forgiveness and love.

When that happens, like the dirty dish ready to be used at the next meal, you and I are made ready to be used as we walk along the paths of our lives. We can’t get away from dirty dishes, and until Jesus takes us all to heaven, we can’t get away from the dirt of this world sticking to us. Thank you Father, for your holy sink that washes away all my sin.