It's Hard to Stay Clean

One thing that has irked me over the years is going out to the kennel after I've showered. Even if a dog doesn't jump on me or I don't have to do any cleaning, I leave with that kennel-taint kind of feeling. The same "ick" feeling happens post-shower when Foster licks my knee cap - ugh, dirty again. Then showering, putting on my fancy (non-dog) clothes and going to someone else's house - and the dog jumps on me. Sigh. It seems I can't stay clean for long. Recently, new driveway stones were delivered. It looked so great...until a few weeds began to poke out. Also delivered was new sand on the beach area of the pond. It was pristine. Until Captain found it, a mere seven mintues after the truck dumped it. Once during church I was coming back from communion and had a nasty thought about someone I saw in a pew. I almost got back in line for another dose of bread and wine. Being free from sin is immensely difficult. Actually, it's impossible. There's a saying that goes something like "Christians aren't perfect, they are just forgiven." While I agree that's probably true, it shouldn't be an excuse to willfully sin more. Christ calls us to holiness. He desires us to lay our lives down for Him, submit and admit that without the power of God, we will always mess up. The closer we draw to the Lord, the more we should want to distance ourselves from sin. It should feel more and more icky to be in the midst of sin. It is a process known as sanctification, and we can't do it without God. No one wants to admit their helplessness. We want to be able to rely on our own strength and accomplishments. Yet admitting we can do no good thing apart from God is actually liberating. Being vulnerable is so much better than being awash and enslaved by sin. Today, strive to be all you can...by God's design.