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Cleansed by Christ

  • June 15, 2026
  • Posted by: Carolyn Mahal
  • Category: Devotions
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If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:6-9

Shortly after we graduated from high school, a classmate of mine named Greg got a job selling high end vacuum cleaners. He needed to practice his in-house demonstration of the vacuum, so he begged the mother of another friend of mine to let him come over and rehearse the presentation. She was reluctant, but when he told her that he made money for every demonstration, and there was no pressure to buy anything, she agreed.

On the night of the demonstration, I was invited to join my friend and his mom for the big event. I couldn’t have cared less about the vacuum, but my friend’s mom was a fabulous cook and she made a dessert, so that was all the incentive I needed. Greg arrived and began to demonstrate the incredible cleaning power of a vacuum worth more than the car I was driving. When he was finished, Greg had done a thorough job of cleaning an area of her living room carpet. Of course, what he also did was suggest to a woman who took great pride in keeping a neat and tidy house that her carpet, and therefore her house was dirty. I know that wasn’t his intention, but that was the message, and it was loud and clear. Unimpressed by the insinuation, my friend’s mom politely declined the opportunity to invest in this cleaning technology and encouraged Greg to not be late for his next demonstration. She wouldn’t even let him stay for dessert!

As we sat and ate Greg’s portion, my friend’s mom explained that she wasn’t mad at Greg. She simply refused to believe that her house was as dirty as he claimed. I spent a lot of time at this house, so I agreed with her that the house was extremely clean and tidy (she made good desserts and I’m not stupid). But in fairness, the extremely powerful high-end vacuum was pulling out dirt from deeper in the carpet than her current vacuum could remove. If she desired, my friend’s mom could have had an incredibly clean carpet, but at an incredibly high cost. With that in mind, she chose to keep her current vacuum and to be content with the level of cleanliness it provided.

In the world of housekeeping, she made what most would call a reasonable choice. However, many Christians today make a similar decision when it comes to their faith lives. We work to eliminate some of the dirt in our lives, but not all of it. Our efforts tend to stay on the surface; cleaning the stuff that’s visible and obvious to everyone around us. But below the surface, we cling to the dirt that nobody else can see. Why is that? Maybe we will keep it there because we don’t really want to get rid of it. After all, they’re only harmless vices, indiscretions that we enjoy privately because we know they’re not good for us. Maybe we’re unwilling to do the work or pay the price it takes to make it clean. Or maybe we’ve lived with the filth for so long that we have chosen to make it a part of our lives.

Whatever the reason, many Christians continue to needlessly wallow in the dirt. This is unfortunate, because the Bible tells us that the blood of Christ has cleansed us, providing for us the pathway to forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. He has made us cleaner than any vacuum or homemaker possibly could. His blood washes away the stain of sin, eliminates death, and leaves a fresh new life.

But wait, there’s more…

All of this is given to us at no cost. – Jesus Christ has paid the price in full. Because of His sacrifice, we can go to our Heavenly Father and receive forgiveness now and salvation for an eternity.

And that’s WAY better than any dessert!

 

Devotion by Richard Schumacher

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