Titbits for the Soul # 5 - When Hand-Washing is not Enough

When Hand-Washing is not Enough

Click here for the Audio-Visual Version - When Hand-Washing is not Enough

Psalm 24:3-4, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart….” (ESV)

This is a season when there is a major emphasis on hand-washing and hand sanitizing like never before.  This precaution is basically to safeguard us from the attack of an unseen virus.  The majority of people, old and young alike, have taken this quite seriously, as we are well aware that our non-compliance to this precautionary measure would be detrimental to our health.

Interestingly, there was this tradition of hand-washing that was upheld meticulously by the Jewish people in the days of Jesus.  This is mentioned in Mark 7:3-4, “For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.” (ESV). When the religious leaders who came from Jerusalem, noted that Jesus’ disciples did not adhere to this rule of hand-washing before eating, they were annoyed  with them.

This was Jesus’ response to these critics in Mark 7:6, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (ESV). The traditions of men, all of which were superficial had taken priority over the commandments of God.

There was another important message Jesus conveyed to the people, and later in detail to His disciples in Mark 7:14-23.  Jesus told them that nothing that goes into a man will defile him, as it goes into the stomach, the good remains, and the rest is expelled, rather that it was what came out from within the heart of man that actually defiled him. He went on to list the things that defile a man in  Mark 7:21-22, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.” (ESV)

We may wash off the virus on our hands with soap, but there is the virus of ‘sin’ in our hearts which only Jesus can cleanse. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, died on the cross to take on Himself the sins of the whole world.  Here’s the good news from 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (ESV)

Let’s take all the precautions we can to wash our hands and be safe. However, we need to remind ourselves that our hearts need that divine cleansing from God. Let us face the fact that death is inevitable for everyone born here on earth. Nonetheless, if we receive the salvation and forgiveness of sins that Jesus offers, our hearts will be cleansed, and our souls can escape that eternal death, which is the eternal separation from the presence of God.

Let the prayer of King David in Psalm 51:10, be our prayer, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (ESV) May we heed the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (ESV)

Click here for the other devotions – Titbits for the Soul

The Life Transforming WORD – By Esther Collins