One of the things I’ve learned about parenting is to accept that I will always have dirty clothes. Whether it’s from drool, puke, or dirty lunch hands, my clothes always seem to bear traces of my children. Ah, the joys of parenting. Because of these “gifts” my children leave behind, I end up throwing my dirty clothes into the washing machine multiple times a week. Washing machines are wonderful, aren’t they? They happily accept our dirty clothes, using water and soap to move between the fibers, cleansing them of dirt and stains.
The Apostle Paul links the idea of washing clothes with the reading of scripture. In Ephesians 5:26, Paul says that Christ cleansed the church “…by the washing with water through the word…” Just as our clothes get dirty and stained, so does our mind. While our minds are filled with good and beautiful things, they are also burdened with pain, hurt, and evil. Paul teaches that one way our minds can be washed and cleansed is through reading scripture. In the same way that a washing machine cleans clothes, God’s word washes and renews our minds.
So, here’s an invitation for all of us: this week, let’s spend time reading scripture. Let’s fill our minds with it, think about it, and pray through it. And as we do, may we experience a cleansing, a renewal of our minds.
-Pastor Evan Davies