The Power Washer

Last week I had the opportunity to use an extremely powerful power washer for a few days. I cleaned the gunk and grime off of a huge concrete slab, often times maneuvering over it an inch at a time to ensure that it was all as clean as possible. As I worked, I thought about the spiritual application of this massive tool.

First of all,  I thought about the incredible power of this washer. It was a super-duper power washer! It even took most of the painted basketball and volleyball marked lines off of the concrete!

In the same way, God is the ultimate power washer!  There is no higher power!  And just as the machine gives the "gift" of high-powered water, and the water does the cleaning, God gave the gift of His Son on the cross, and His blood shed did the cleansing for those who accept that gift and obey His Word.  

I also thought about the time and care I spent going over every spot, making sure no stains were left. I asked myself this question: Am I as careful to look for the "spots and blemishes" of my spiritual life, taking care to repent of the sins and name them one by one?  The blood of Jesus will continually clean off the spots in my life when I repent of those sins and strive to live a life in faithful obedience to His Will.  Just as no spot was too bad to withstand the power of that power washer, no sin is "too big" for the blood of Jesus.  His blood has the power to wash it all away, making me clean and pure.

And then the last thought from the power washer was the fact that, no matter how powerful the machine was, the water was, the pressure was, unless I held it in my hand....unless I pushed the handle, the machine couldn't do the work it was supposed to do. Now God can do work without me. In fact He works all of the time and everywhere without my help. He doesn't need my help and He doesn't need yours; however, for Him to work in my life...for His Spirit to work in my life....my heart must be willing to allow Him to work.  He can do things that abruptly make my heart willing to obey, willing to listen, willing to change, but if I'm defiant, unwilling to change, unwilling to submit, unwilling to do anything at all, He can't change me the way He wants to.  I have to "allow" the power to work in my life.  And although I did NOTHING to clean the spots off of the concrete (I had no power!), I had to "allow" the power washer to do it's job by me doing my job.  God's Spirit can work in my life, molding me and helping me grow in the fruits, but only if I allow Him to work.  It is as simple as saying, "Here you go God. Do what needs to be done!".

It's interesting how simple things in life can have deep spiritual meaning if we will just look.  There are spiritual applications all around us if we will just open our eyes!  So whether you find yourself folding laundry, washing dishes, playing catch, walking, or using a power washer, look for the spiritual side of life.  God will teach when we take the time to learn.