Clean

When our children were young, and we're talking INFANT young right now, my wife and I always
enjoyed bath time for our kids. We'd take their little tee shirts and diapers off and then we'd gently place our little bundles-of-joy into the bath tub. We'd make sure the water was just the right temperature first though and and then we'd take some soap and one of those tiny, little wash clothes and gently wash their little bodies. A little Johnson's Baby Shampoo, some baby talk and bath time for babies was simply a dream.

That's how it was SUPPOSED to go.

In reality, there are times our precious little bundles of joy simply do not WANT to take a bath. They would rather GIVE one then receive one. That's when bath time becomes - Armageddon at Sea!

My wife and I were over at our son's house for dinner a couple of months ago. He and his wife have recently blessed us with a grandson. It wasn't long after our dinner was done that it became bath time for their 6-month old. One thing you should know about our grandson. He likes to kick. Tubbie time for baby usually involves THREE people toweling off afterwards. Ha ha ha!

We can laugh now, but 30+ years ago that was US on the receiving end. Gone are the days of us having to wash our kids clean. Now, thankfully, they can clean themselves. Or can they?

We parents can do all the right things as we raise our children. And even though we try our hardest to raise good, God-fearing kids, our off-spring can STILL make decisions that make us ask ourselves, "Where did we go wrong?" How can we as parents keep our children clean in an increasingly dirty world? What do we do . . . . WHEN CHILDREN ATTACK!!!

I think we as parents need to lift up our children in prayer. Seriously! We must pray, pray pray! And not just one of those, "Good morning, God" prayers. We must pray deply. We must WEEP for our children. Then we must be willing to take action. Our children are our most valuable assets. What steps are we willing to take to protect them? To help them stay clean? To help them GET clean?

"And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” - Mark 2:2-5

These men dismantled a house to help their friend, to get him nearer to Jesus. We have to ask ourselves, what would WE do? What are we willing to do . . . for our children? Honestly? I think things have to get bad before they can get better. I think there has to be some anguish in our lives, in our children's lives, before they can begin to see the light.

Giving an infant a bath is a simple way to make them clean, but that's just what's on the outside. All of us need to become clean on the INSIDE.

I praise the parents who make the decision to home school their children. They have seen the danger in the schools of today, handing over their children to be taught and raised by people who are basically strangers. Praise God for parents who care!

I know some parents who have literally moved to another town so that their children could be raised in a better environment. So they could be kept relatively clean. Sometimes even steps like that don't work. So what do we do.

We must come before a Holy God and give our children to Him. Jesus is the only one who can make them TRULY clean. Pray for their protection from evil. Pray that their hearts remain pure and that their minds would not become polluted by the teachings of this world. We must do everything in our power to save our children from the eveil one. But that STILL won't be enough.

Nothing will be enough until we call upon Jesus - the Lord, God Almighty. Maker of heaven and earth. Only then can any of us become truly clean.

"22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." - Hebrews 10:22

A Call To Anguish - David Wilkerson