SPIRITUAL SQUEEGEES

Every spring and fall, I dig out my squeegee to take the layer of dust off the home's windows. I use a mixture of warm water-vinegar or water-ammonia to wet the windows, then squeegee them dry. When I bought this tool, I was reading some homemaker books that extolled the superiority of janitor-grade squeegees, as opposed to cheapies sold in regular stores. Truly, quality matters, and this one has lasted for decades and still does a clean “sweep” of a wet window.

In our spiritual lives, too, we need high-grade “sin-detecting” squeegees. When our spiritual windows, as it were, get clouded by sin-dust-and-grime, rubbing them with a quick “sorry-I-messed-up” rag just won't do the job. Cutting through the negative grime that sin leaves takes more than a spiritual shrug.

I have appreciated the insights about a holy life offered by Jerry Bridges (1929-2016) in his several Christian living books. He was affiliated with The Navigators, whose emphasis is discipleship and Christian growth. In his book The Pursuit of Holiness (NavPress, 1978, 1996), he wrote about the “daily battle” of resisting sin and living for Christ. It's a struggle that mandates honest, humbling self-reflection to “see” through the grime of our daily lives to the purity of Christ. Bridges remarked:

The Holy Spirit strengthens us to holiness first by enabling us to see our need of holiness. He enlightens our understanding so that we begin to see God's standard of holiness....Even Christians taking in the teaching of the Bible can be deceived about their own sins. We somehow feel that consent to the teaching of Scripture is equivalent to obedience.(p. 72)

When we allow our “spiritual windows” to be scrubbed by the “squeegee” (as it were) of God's cleansing Holy Spirit, then we realize how dirty our thoughts and actions really are. Maybe we can still manage life through the grime of sinful attitudes and poor choices, but it's not what God intended. Bridges continued:

As we grow in the Christian life we face increasing danger of spiritual pride. We know the correct doctrines, the right methods and the proper do's and don'ts. But we may not see the poverty of our own spiritual character. We may not see our critical and unforgiving spirit, our habit of backbiting, or our tendency to judge others (p. 72).

When that happens, he added, we're like the Laodicean church described in Revelation 3:17, thinking they were just fine spiritually, not realizing they were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” In other words, mud-covered windows obscuring the purity of God, needing deep spiritual cleaning.

My windows look a lot better after I give them some squeegee-TLC. But my washing task isn't perfect—or so I see when the afternoon sun glares through them and I see every little swath that escaped the squeegee's blade. I'm grateful that God still accepts me—streaks and specks and all—because He hears my confession and sees me through my faith in Jesus. And I think of that promise we're given in Revelation 3:2—that someday “we shall see Him as He is.” What a glorious-perfectly-clean-window promise follows that: “ And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

PURE

This white rose bush is my favorite among the dozen-plus roses growing by our driveway. It's named “Mount Hood” for Oregon's snow-capped inactive volcano. But when my husband chose that variety for our rose garden, he remembered a dark night on Mount Hood several years earlier, when an impaired driver crossed the center line and crashed into us. Our car was destroyed, we had injuries...but we lived.

After that traumatic event, I struggled with bad feelings toward the man who hit us and tried to elude responsibility with lies and denials. Yet I knew God's way was not to nurture enmity against this man. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Even in far-lesser offenses, it's so easy to let bitterness and pride taint the heart. I love this old ditty by an unknown author: To dwell above with the saints we love, Oh, that will be glory!/But to dwell below with the saints we know, well, that's another story!

On our own, without other people to bug us and badger us, we might do quite well. But “purity of heart” isn't a matter of isolation or always having our own way. In Psalm 73, Asaph (one of King David's temple musicians) struggled with trusting God when he saw nonbelievers enjoying prosperity, fame, and good health. Such people even declared faith in God as unnecessary for them: “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?' (73:11).

WHY TRY?

This bothered Asaph, who complained, “In vain have I kept my heart pure, in vain have I washed my hands in innocence” (v. 13). If purity didn't really matter, why try? His attitude adjustment about the rewards of faith came as he returned to worship. He admitted he was looking at other people and not at a holy God.

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and arrogant; I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me to glory. (vv.21-24)

I've long appreciated Asaph's psalm. He pulls no punches: life doesn't always favor the godly with bouquets of roses, riches, popularity, health, yada yada. But God never changes. In a song that Asaph's king, David, wrote: “To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless” (2 Samuel 22:26).

My “Mount Hood” roses bloom for a season, then go to a winter's death. How different for humans who trust God: Asaph put it this way in beautiful words I memorized and often recall:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And being with you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25-26).

So yes, blessed are the pure in heart. And even if, in all honesty, we struggle to feel our hearts are pure enough, God has the “pruning” solution: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Oh my, did my rose care lead to a sermon? I confess so. But I'm grateful that even in the ordinary tasks of life, God has a message for me. Maybe for you, too.

PURE

White, purity, innocence—roses of this hue convey many quiet messages. Appropriately, they’re often carried by brides. But for me, the bush of white roses in our yard communicate life. In 1998, in the foothills of Oregon’s snow-capped Mt. Hood, my family of four was almost killed by a drinking driver. Our car was demolished; we were injured, but lived. Not long after, we needed to replace an ailing rose. My husband chose this one whose name is—appropriately—“Mt. Hood.” Its first bloom is full of clusters of white beauty, and it often reminds me of scripture that speak to purity, like these—among the first I memorized as a young adult in a Bible memory program.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:9-11 NIV)

DARK AND LIGHT
That verse sits in the back of my mind as I try to be understand people and situations that seem just "not right." One thing that's helped is a daily diet of Proverbs--reading the chapter that corresponds to the day of the month--in addition to other scriptures. Over and over, as I read and think through its aphorisms, I absorb its truths and gain God's perspective. Yesterday, as I noticed the pen-dots I'd previously put by certain verses in Proverbs 29 (which says much about anger and scoffing), I realized God was reminding me again that behaviors I was enduring from a troubled person were just not right in His sight. "Whoever trusts in the Lord," said the end of verse 25, "is kept safe."  And that's what I took into my day.

Recently I was researching the story behind the hymn “Take Time to Be Holy,” whose lyrics were written by William Longstaff, a 19^th century businessman who gave generously to God’s work. Among the evangelists he  befriended were Salvation Army-founder William Booth and evangelist Dwight Moody. Longstaff was inspired by this Bible verse: “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16, related to Leviticus 11:44). His poem based on that verse eventually found a tune match in 1882, and became a favorite through Moody crusades.

There’s some good stuff in that hymn about growing closer to God: Speak oft with thy Lord. Care for God’s children. Let Jesus be your Guide. Let people see Jesus in your conduct. Be led in love by God’s spirit.

But don’t take my word for it.   Find a hymnal and read the lyrics. Then think of a man in the sometimes rough rounds of business seeking to make a difference for Christ. Trying to be the white rose against the darkness of a world that’s lost its Jesus-perspective. Doing what’s right (which, by the way, rhymes with “white”).

Wedding "Fireworks"

It started out like a normal wedding on June 27. The mother-of-the-bride (that’s me) had eyes that started “sweating” even as her son ushered her down the aisle. The three-year-old flower girl was cute-cute-cute as she flung petals along the aisle to the tune of “Humoresque.” The bride (my daughter Inga) glowed as she entered with her dad. The worship band and scripture readings kept the focus on God’s faithfulness.

But those of us who knew were waiting for the final act of the ceremony. After pronouncing the couple “man and wife,” the minister turned to the guests and explained about their unusual pledge. At the beginning of their public “courtship” and on through a year and a half engagement, this couple had established certain physical boundaries to honor the other’s purity. One was that they wouldn’t kiss until their wedding day.

Deep breath. Then, “Trevor, you may kiss your bride.”

We didn’t have to wait a week to the Fourth of July to witness some fireworks!

In an age in which promiscuity is rampant, even among Christian teens (including, sadly, those who made “abstinence” pledges marked with rings), it was a pure, sweet moment.

By the way, do you know the origin of the wedding kiss? Pagan cultures believed this was how the couple “exchanged spirits.” The first bridal bouquets were nosegays of fresh herbs that supposedly warded off evil spirits. The first wedding rings (braided grass wrapped around the bride’s wrists and ankles) supposedly kept her “spirit” from leaving her. More “spirit” stuff: guests clinked glasses in wedding toasts to ward off evil spirits. Carrying the bride over the threshold was supposed to keep her safe from any “evil spirits” lingering there.

Ready for more wedding trivia? The first “best man” was actually a warrior to help capture a likely woman from another tribe! The first bride’s attendants were partners in crime to help a bride escape her family and other suitors to run away with her choice of mate.

Despite all the strange beginnings of many wedding customs, one truth remains. One mother-of-the-bride shared how, between photo-taking and arrival of guests, she took her daughter to the doors leading into the sanctuary. As they looked at the cross at the front of church, the mother said, “Remember this day isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus.”

Amen.