Faces begin to change from smiles to looks of concern as I make my way around the table. Some even get up and head for the bathroom before I reach them, like adults avoiding the alter call at church. Why do they leave the table? Because they know they need cleaned up and they don’t want to be exposed as a phony before their peers.
Kids think they are so smart. They also think, at many times, their parents are stupid. The child is hungry. The child cares not of germs or manners. The child cares of being satisfied NOW. The child thinks, “My parent doesn’t know I’m not telling the truth. My parent will not check. They look clean to me.” Aren’t I the same way sometimes as I think bless me Lord, bless me! But rules are rules. In my house clean hands get food; dirty hands do not. And yes, your hands will be checked.
I teach my kids that it is the same in the heavenly Father’s house. He will check and he will reward those whose hands are clean. He will check for the dirt in our heart and soul. We clean our hearts by confessing our sin to God and asking for forgiveness. We take our sins to the cross (our sink), and apply the word of God (our soap), and are cleansed by the blood of Christ (our water). We watch as our wrong actions, attitudes and thinking gets washed away (our dirt). We thank Jesus, just as we do before receiving a meal. We thank him for washing our hands and for giving us the aroma of his innocence before our heavenly Father. Our hands are now clean before God and that is what matters most.
For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. – 2 Corinthians 2:15 (NIV)
