Clean

We went to Busch Gardens today. In spite of the fact that the calendar says that fall is looming around the corner, it was hot. "Dante's Inferno" kind of hot. I picked up on people saying, "It's still better than summertime," and that is true, but make no mistake, it was HOT. We were all a sweaty, sticky, disgusting mess when we piled our tired bodies back into the car at the end of the day. The first thought that came to my head when I collapsed into the car was, 'A shower is going to feel sooooooo good.' It seems that the dirtier you get, the better a shower feels, and the more clean you feel when you are done. If there is a day when I basically stay indoors and don't do much, then when I take a shower, it's OK, but I don't step out of the shower feeling transformed or anything. When I've had a day much like today, when the funkiness of the outdoors is clingling for dear life to my skin and I feel as if the only reasonable choice for the garments I am wearing is to burn them, a shower makes all the difference in the world. I feel like a new woman. I can literally feel the filth running off of me, and when I step out I actually feel lighter. It's the best feeling, and can only be helped by immediately jumping into a bed with sheets that are still warm from the drier. That is the perfect storm of coziness right there.
It's the same thing, I think, with sin. There are people who think that they have been too awful, sinned too much, done too many unthinkable things, to even try to approach God and ask for forgiveness. What these people are missing out on is feeling the cleanest they have ever felt. They have the opportunity for the God who created the universe to wash away their sin and for them to stand before Him completely clean and forgiven, and all they have to do is ask. Their load would actually feel lighter if they would just ask for forgiveness and accept the grace and mercy that the Father lovingly offers to all of His children. It is such an amazing concept, and I think that so many miss out on it, for fear that they aren't good enough to be forgiven, which is the awful irony of the whole thing. There are many passages in the Bible that speak of being washed, made whiter than snow, and we are urged to approach the throne and ask for forgiveness. If no one were to take the Father up on His offer, then His Son would have died in vain. So if you haven't, I urge you, give it a try. It's the best feeling ever; I promise. Jumping into a bed with warm sheets doesn't even compare.