Lesson from a Washing Machine
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"You stink!” are words I have often said to Larry as he walked past me. He knew that I meant his clothes smelled badly. It’s very hard to get clothes clean when washing them by hand, especially pants or other thick clothing. It would take me hours. I could scrub and scrub, and still I couldn’t get them clean to my satisfaction.
That’s how it went until recently. With the help of a nice tax return, we were able to purchase a washing machine. Our machine is a twin tub washer small enough to run on our 650w generator. Even though it’s not automatic and won’t do everything for me, it’s been a tremendous help these past few weeks. It cuts down on the time it takes to do the laundry and gets it cleaner!
As I’ve been thinking about my new machine, I’ve thought of how it can relate to our spiritual lives. We, in our sinful state, are “dirty” and “stink.” We can try to clean up our lives and do better, but if we try to do it ourselves it just won’t work. We have to let Jesus, the Great Cleanser, wash us, and He can cleanse us from all unrighteousness and make us clean and whole. My machine can in no way compare to Jesus, but it does remind me to depend on His Righteousness and not my own.
Larry, Christy, Lawrance, and Amaziah live in the village of Tung on Buka Island, working with the Solos people.
Larry recently helped with a Writers’ Workshop; one of the results was an alphabet book in the Solos language!
