I remember a time a few years ago when I had a couple of my kids in the bathtub at the same time. By now, I don’t even remember which two were in there. But I remember hearing the squealing and splashing. Splashing that sounded more like a tsunami, as in huge quantities of water getting moved from place to place.
I went to check on them and opened the door to the bathroom. They froze in mid-splash as I surveyed the mess, waiting to see if they were going to get in trouble. Sure enough, there was water everywhere. And in one of those moments where I really got it right and have been glad ever since that I did, I smiled and said, “Have fun. Splash as much as you want.” I closed the door and listened to the giggling and splashing start back up.
I guess it’s safe to say that my kids love bath time, or at least the time they get to spend playing in the water. Getting clean is just a fringe benefit for them. But I’ve realized something, and that’s what I want to share with you tonight.
Yes, the analogy I want to draw is that of getting clean. Kids get physically clean in the bathtub; the Holy Spirit cleanses us spiritually. But the lesson I want us to learn from the analogy isn’t quite so obvious. It’s simply this: My kids never get out of the tub wondering whether or not they’re clean. They assume they are. On the other hand, when we moms ask God for forgiveness and cleansing, we often walk away wondering whether we’re really cleansed or feeling like we’re not.
That’s because we don’t really believe that something as simple as a “bath” can get us clean. We don’t fully believe Jesus when He says that by asking forgiveness—by taking a bath—we are indeed cleansed. We figure that what we’ve done is so bad, one bath couldn’t possibly take care of removing the stain. Or we think there has to be something more to it than merely bathing (repenting and asking forgiveness).
But there isn’t. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.
True, my kids will need a bath again soon. Tonight is a bath night, for instance, and I don’t expect them to go the rest of their lives without getting dirty. But the next bath they take won’t be for the purpose of washing away the dirt they washed away tonight. That dirt is already gone. Instead, they will bathe away any new dirt they’ve gotten into since then.
Same with us. Once we’ve repented, asked for, and received forgiveness, we never need to be forgiven again for that same sin. It’s gone, washed away down the drain somewhere. Yes, we’ll need to “bathe” again the next time we sin, but that will be for new sin—not the sin we asked forgiveness for tonight.
That is the kind of cleansing Jesus offers us. He washes our sin so far away from us we can’t get it back. Yet we spend the rest of our lives in the bathtub because we believe our sin isn’t really gone, when in reality, it went down the drain a long time ago.
What sin do you believe is still with you, despite the fact you’ve repented and asked for forgiveness? Hear Jesus speaking to you: It’s gone. I took care of it. It’s down the drain.
Friend, the bath is over. It’s time to stop washing and start praising Jesus and His infinite mercy. Let’s not spend any more time trying to make complete what Jesus already fully took care of. When He says gone, He means gone. Let’s believe Him and get out of the tub.
Psalm 103:12—As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.