Like every organisation, we had to have a COVID Safe Plan in place before we could resume Church Services early last month. One component of that plan is a deep clean and disinfect of the Church after each service. St. John’s has always been cleaned each week. It certainly looked clean when we began services, but the first few times we disinfected, the paper towel we used to wipe down surfaces came up black. It reminded me that this is a living building and the stream of people coming and going for more than 160 years of continuous use have left their mark on it.

As I thought more about that, I realised that the same is true for each of us. Although outwardly we appear clean (and this is not a comment on anyone’s personal hygiene), life in this world leaves its mark. The dirt of life in this world builds up on us and we are each in need of a spiritual deep clean and disinfect. In fact, given that God is perfect and holy, I’m certain that we need a deep clean and disinfect if we are ever to enter his presence. The bible describes this using the language of a clean heart. But a clean heart is not something we can achieve with soap and water and disinfectant sprays. Their effect in only skin deep. Only God, through Jesus, can give us the heart deep clean that we need.

God says this in the bible, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:25-26). The effect of this new heart is that we can “draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22). Why not ask him to make us clean?

Neil Percival