Sweaty Kisses

Some may have decided not to read this one after one glance at the title ... but for those brave enough to check it out ... thank you, and I hope you won't be disappointed. It was a comment I heard that I just can't get out of my head. The details are a little foggy (that's code for "I'm making this whole thing up" ... just kidding), but there's a nugget of truth in this story for us to ponder.

I was at Cliff's house (for anyone just tuning in ... Cliff Jordan is the guy I'm partnering up with to plant a church in Richmond, Va), and April (wife) kissed Cliff, who happened to be sweaty, and she commented that he was salty ... to which Cliff responded, "yea, I need to drink some more water." Hmm, that's not the solution to the problem that I first would have thought of. The idea is, that if your sweat is really salty, you're not getting enough water, and so your sweat has a higher concentration of salt than it should. So ... salty sweat, drink water. Ok, but why not just go take a shower?

That's when it hit me ... there were two very distinct approaches to this issue. One approach only dealt with the surface, but one went below the surface. See, I was thinking, if you got salt on your skin, you just go wash it off. But, the real issue is - you're not getting enough water ... it's your condition on the inside that really determines the saltiness of the sweat on the outside. Then I thought, hmm, this whole concept seems familiar.

How many of us take this same approach to sin? When we detect sin in our life, we just think on the surface ... just try to wash it off. But sin can't be dealt with on the surface, because that's not where the problem is ... it's on the inside. Jesus pointed this out to the pharisees in Matthew 23:25-26: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."

We cannot address our sin issue with behavior modification; simply trying harder not sin will not produce any lasting results. We must look below the surface ... the heart of the matter. If God has saved you, He has also changed you. We must recognize that God HAS cleansed our hearts and made us new ... and then we can live that new life knowing that we have a new identity, not simply trying to stop doing bad stuff.

Spiritual showers like church attendance, giving money, and attempts to stop doing bad stuff are not enough to cleanse your heart ... only the blood of Jesus is enough to cleanse your heart. And if He has, recognize it, thank Him, and live in light of that truth.