When I was growing up it was common to see someone out in their driveway, sponge in one hand, water hose in the other accompanied by a bucket of frothing soapy suds cleaning their car. Especially on Saturdays, I suspect water meters pinged loudly as everyone got their automobiles clean and shined. For myself, if I really put the effort into cleaning my car properly, I was probably looking at a couple of hours at least. Add a wax job and you were looking at the biggest part of a Saturday afternoon.
Fast forward to today and the automatic car wash has revolutionized the experience of cleaning our car, SUV, or truck. Automatic car washes in themselves aren't a new phenomenon, yet more recently, car washes have basically become the new driveway car wash experience where everything you need to clean your vehicle, inside and out, is provided right down to the spray bottle and cleaning cloths. No more water hoses getting kinked up under the back tire, Yeah!
This offer of a "full service" package appears to be a game changer, but that's only if you take advantage of the resources that are available. I'll admit, I've turned in my sudsy bucket and sponges for an "unlimited" washes package, which has made keeping the car shiny much easier. Drive up, place the car in neutral, and keep your hands off the steering wheel. Minutes later your car is washed, waxed, dried, and shined. The problem is that's only half of the job that needs to be done. As you drop your transmission back in gear you next encounter the area created to vacuum and polish the inside of your automobile. Pull in to a slot, grab a couple of cleaning rags and go to work drying off those renegade water spots, clear off smudge marks on the interior windows, shine up the dash area, and then vacuum out all the crooks and crevices, all of which typically equals more time and a much higher level of effort to provide a true deep cleaning. To be completely transparent, many times I check the clock and make the hasty decision to bypass cleaning the interior. In my mind, the outside of my car is what the majority of people see, so if I don't clean the inside up, and it isn't too dirty anyway, then it won't really matter. Most people will see the shiny exterior and for all practical purposes they will perceive my car is clean. That line of thinking helps me justify driving on by the vacuums and cleaning tools, yet the fact of the matter is that just because the exterior of my car looks clean, it doesn't necessarily mean my car is clean. Could it be that we treat our relationship with God the same way that I just described in my car cleaning experience?
Living out a life of faith is a much deeper commitment than an exterior wash and wax. We can live a life that on the surface appears to be clean and shiny without showing what is really going on inside. Our hurts, pains, and even our own selfish desires can control what is going on inside, and the whole time we keep people far enough away so that all they see is our buffed exterior life. That may work in how others perceive us, but God knows our inner workings. He knows our thoughts, intentions, and plans, and God knows whether our plans are set to benefit us personally, or if our plans are designed to serve God and expand His Kingdom. To live out a life of service to God we have to be willing to clean out the areas of our life that people may not see on the surface. Just like our car cleaning analogy, we have to be willing to get down into the crooks and crevices of our heart, mind, and soul, vacuuming out the bad and replacing it with the love of God.
If
you are struggling with what it looks like to clean out the interior of your
life I believe this scripture may help, "If we claim to be without sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness." I John 1:8-9. You can't clear out your heart and
mind on your own. The past can weigh you down, your current situation can cause
you to feel unworthy or unforgivable, but that is the world talking to you. You
have value and you have a path to forgiveness that was forged over 2,000 years
ago. Christ is your soul's automatic car wash, and regardless of where you are
in life, God gave us His one and only Son to provide each of us with a walk
with Him that is both shiny on the outside and most importantly on the inside
of our soul. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
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