I remember where we stayed 20 yrs. ago in our first Cornerstone STM to San Juan, Nicaragua. I didn’t take a shower for 5 days and I felt dirty; the only thing that kept me “clean” were the baby wet wipes. After taking a “shower,” the feeling was out-of-this world, refreshing and alive!
What happened to me physically and hygienically in Nicaragua then is analogous to what happens to us spiritually, when we experience the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus the Purifier.
Jesus says in Matt. 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” To live life to the full, a life flows out of our relationship with Jesus, the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes are applicable here: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
In light of what our heart – the idol factory – is capable of producing, John’s teaching about Jesus being our Purifier is most hopeful and life-giving.
