Clean All The Way Down

It is entirely possible to show up every Sunday, know all the right songs, and serve in every capacity while keeping God at arm's length. Matthew 15 makes this uncomfortable reality impossible to ignore. When religious leaders confronted Jesus about His disciples skipping a hand-washing tradition, He turned the question back on them, pointing out how they had used their own religious customs to sidestep God's actual commands. Traditions and preferences are not wrong in themselves, but when they get elevated to the same level of authority as God's Word, they stop helping us follow Jesus and start becoming a measuring stick we use to judge everyone around us.

Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter by pointing out that real defilement does not come from what touches our hands. It comes from what is already inside us. Evil thoughts, slander, bitterness, and the words we speak in frustration all reveal what is truly happening in our hearts. The Sunday version of many of us looks steady and put together, but what about the words spoken at home, in the car, or at work when things go sideways? Those moments tell the real story.

The good news is that Jesus is not naming these things to condemn us. He is naming them because He wants to meet us there and bring healing. Like the tax collector in Luke 18 who simply said, God have mercy on me, the path to a clean heart is not religious performance but honest confession. God is faithful to forgive and cleanse when we stop hiding and start coming to Him as we actually are. He is not looking for a polished exterior. He is looking for a heart that is willing to be made clean.