Hearts Actually Clean

I was reminded of an awkward situation recently.  After using an electric griddle I wiped it clean--only it wasn't very clean.  Small bits of the wet paper towel I used broke off and littered the surface, but I didn't notice them.  When I walked by and saw someone cleaning it, I informed them I had already cleaned it.  Then I received an explanation that the griddle wasn't actually clean, and more cleaning made perfect sense.

One time when we were hosting a family I noticed the bathroom shower looked a bit dull, and upon further inspection it was due to a build-up of soap residue.  As I began the process of cleaning the fiberglass shower enclosure, one of our guests mentioned the shower had just been  cleaned.  The clear insinuation was that I was re-doing what had already been done.  I responded by running my thumbnail along the surface which produced a curled strip of soap similar to how a block plane produces wood shavings.  I had no reason to doubt the actions of cleaning had taken place, but actual cleaning (according to my standards) had yet to be done.

Proverbs 20:9 says, "Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"?  King Solomon expressed the spiritual truth that God's righteous standards are infinitely beyond our capacity to measure up to:  we cannot keep our hands clean, much less purify our hearts from sin.  The Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy in their hearts when He claimed the ability to forgive sins, for that is God's sovereign territory.  Though we have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory, He is able to cleanse our hearts, purify us from sin, and impute the righteousness o God to us by faith in Jesus.  Like unclean lepers cleansed of their defiling disease by Jesus, sinners can be cleansed (actually clean!) by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

The psalmist sang in Psalm 130:3-4, "If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? ⁴ But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."  God has the ability to forgive and cleanse us from all sin, and He delights to do so.  His word had a cleansing effect upon our minds, and He expunges the sins of those who confess and forsake them as if they had never been committed.  David prayed according to God's gracious goodness toward all people in Psalm 51:9-10:  "Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. ¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."  God's conditions for cleansing is not perfection, but that we would humble ourselves in repentance of sin, trust in Him and ask.  Having been forgiven and cleansed from sin, we ought to walk in the fear of God who has demonstrated such love for us.