Cleanup Day
PURITY IS RIGHT BECAUSE GOD IS PURE.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1.
Verse of the Day: “All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own” (1 John 3:3, The Message).
Sarah ran the vacuum cleaner while Mom dusted the furniture. Dad dragged the Christmas tree outside while his other daughter, Rachel, carried boxes of Christmas ornaments up to the attic. Then Dad and Sarah went outside and worked together to take down the Christmas lights, while Rachel helped Mom carry bags and bags of trash out to the curb.
Their annual after-Christmas cleanup party was in full swing. When it was over, they all plopped in exhaustion onto the couch and chairs in the living room.
“I love Christmas,” Sarah said, “and all the decorations we put up and everything, but I like it when we put everything back to normal too.”
“Me too,” Rachel agreed. “I’m glad I don’t have to pick up any more pine needles out of the carpet!” Picking up the needles that fell from the tree was always Rachel’s job.
“And I feel like I’ve been picking up wrapping paper for years!” Sarah added.
Mom smiled and looked around the room. “It is a nice feeling when everything’s neat and clean again, isn’t it?”
“Sure is,” Rachel said.
“Clean is good,” Sarah added, smiling.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet. Then Dad said, “You know, you’re right. Clean is good. . . . Have any of you ever stopped to think why clean is good?”
“Because clean is healthier,” Mom said.
“And prettier,” Rachel added.
Sarah’s expression was suddenly serious. “Because clean is like God,” she said, acting as though her answer surprised even herself. “Right, Dad? Because God is perfect and pure-that’s why clean feels so good and dirty seems so … well, so dirty!”
Dad nodded his head. “You’re right, Sarah,” he said. “You’re absolutely right. And that’s not just why a clean room is so nice; it’s also why pure hearts and lives are right. Because the God who made us-and made everything around us-is pure.”
“Yea, Sarah,” Rachel muttered. Everyone looked at her. Her head bobbed forward until her chin touched her chest. Dad, Mom, and Sarah smiled at each other; Rachel had fallen asleep!
TO DO: Shave a bar of fragrant soap into tiny slivers (a potato peeler works well for this) and pour the slivers into a pretty teacup; place it on the kitchen windowsill or by a bathroom sink. Let the fresh, clean smell remind you that purity is right because God is pure.
TO PRAY: “May your purity rub off on us, 0 Lord.”