“Did You Wash Your Hands?”
Hello Friends,
How are you doing today? Did you have a good weekend? Would you believe me if I told you that even though the Fourth of July was almost a week ago, I still saw and heard fireworks going off! It seems like the celebrations may last for forever. I guess celebrating our freedom is something we should do all the time! Did you know that God wants us to celebrate our freedom all the time?
The Apostle Paul wrote to the people in Galatia, “For you were called to freedom…” (Galatians 5:13). Every day, God calls us to experience freedom; and this freedom is filled with love, salvation, and forgiveness. Every day, God wants us to love and forgive one another so that we will eternally be given salvation and freedom in Jesus Christ. Speaking of Jesus Christ, in another letter, Paul wrote this to the people of Rome, “For one who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:7). Jesus, on the cross, died and was set free from sin–all the bad stuff in life. And guess what, we can do the same thing. Jesus has set has free from the bad things in life: he took it upon himself to remove the bad things so that we could be set free. But God needs us to do something first: He needs us to wash and be cleaned.
Throughout your life, I bet someone has asked you, “Did you wash your hands?” Some of you probably said “Yes” as you hid your filthy hands under the table or under a napkin. Others of you probably said “Yes” while you shoved your clean hands in someone’s face telling them to smell them. While growing up, I was always asked by my mom, “Did you wash your hands?” Did you know that on average, a person will wash their hands five to eight times a day.
The CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has taught us how to properly wash our hands: 1) Wet your hands with clean running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap; 2) Lather your hands by rubbing them together with soap, lather the backs of your hands and rub them together, and rub between your fingers and under your nails; 3) Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds—the time it takes to sing through “Happy Birthday” twice; 4) Rinse your hands well under clean, running water; and 5) Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them (https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html) We are to wash our hands, before, during, and after preparing food. Before and after eating food, we are to wash our hands. After blowing our nose, coughing, or sneezing, and after petting an animal, handling pet food or pet treats, we are to wash our hands. We are to wash our hands before and after we do a lot of things.
God, through the Prophet Elisha, healed a man named Naaman by having him immerse himself in the Jordan River seven times. After doing this, Naaman was healed; after being washed, Naaman was made clean. God needs us to do the same thing. God needs us to be washed by his love so that we can be made clean so that we can remove the bad things in our life. So the next time you wash your hands, remind yourself that you are becoming clean for Christ because Christ wants to set you free. Can you remember to wash your hands?
Your Friend, Holy Spirit!
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