Naturally Clean

“And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mr 7:14-16 AV)

 

This is a very interesting and significant passage for several reasons.  It goes contrary to the natural man’s way of thinking.  We saw this, especially during the COVID crisis.  No doubt, that which physically enters the body can cause harm.  COVID and any other foreign substance can.  Foods that are not healthy, when entering the body, can cause harm.  These things can physically defile the body.  So, the first principle we notice is the understanding of what God considers defilement.  As Jesus explains the parable, those things which defile a person are not diseases and disorders which may plague the body.  God considers defilement as something that spiritually harms the individual.  There follows a small list of some of those things Jesus considers a source of defilement.  What I noticed, even among God’s people, was inordinate attention given to a disease that may or may not take one's life to the exclusion of what God calls a defilement.  It was more important to safeguard one’s self against a flu-like virus rather than wickedness of the heart.  The world is even worse.  It was a greater evil to fail in taking a virus as seriously as they were than it was to live in abomination against God.  However, that is not the point of our devotions today.  In reading this passage and Jesus’ explanation of it, I asked myself a question to which I already knew the answer.  There is a natural process God created in man to rid himself of that which physically defiles him.  Jesus calls it the draught.  I wonder, is there a process which God has given to naturally rid ourselves of that which does cause defilement?

There are a few places which I go that I really enjoy.  To most, they wouldn’t mean all that much.  But to me, they were placed of great release.  There is Niagara Falls.  When people are few and one can watch the waterfall over the edge for an extended period of time, something about it helps the soul.  There is the shore of a Great Lake like Michigan, Erie, or Ontario.  Casting one’s eyes to the horizon, the mind seems to lose its constraints.  However, there is one place which I enjoyed above those mentioned above.  It is similar to many of my camping trips.  It reminded me of working summer camp.  That place is Necedah Wildlife Refuge.  Located in central Wisconsin, the refuge is an area of about 13 miles by 5 miles.  It is a collection of vast dried-up marshes.  Looking across some of these marshes, what seems like a few hundred yards may actually be a mile or more.  What I enjoyed most was not all the activity around deer hunting, but rather, when the hunt was over and I enjoyed the last half-day sitting or standing at the edge of one of those marshes without another soul around.  Usually, on a brighter day when deer were bedded down and the woods were quiet, I would find myself at the edge, watching the cattails and marsh grass swaying in the gentle wind.  With nothing to really concentrate on but just enough that my mind did not wander, I found the experience rather cathartic.  Most of my negative emotional person and the wrong thoughts of my mind and heart ended up in the middle of that marsh.  As the grass swayed in the wind, the waves of all that which was stored up were simply dumped in that vast area.  There is something about staring off into a large vast space that has a natural way of cleaning out the soul.

God has provided several ways in which we can naturally clean out that which defiles us.  We can cast all our care upon Him, for He cares for us.  We can be washed by the word of God.  Paul tells us we can bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.  There are many ways in which the soul can be cleansed of that which defiles us.  We are not bound to hold on to them any longer than we desire.  Like taking a long hot shower, the choice is ours.  We can harbor that which defiles us, or we can seek relief.  We do not have to be what and who we are.  There is a great dumping ground for all that which displeases God.  All it takes is a trip to the word of God and filling our hearts and minds with that which pleases God.  All it takes is to recognize triggers that allow for those thoughts and feelings and catch them before they can work themselves out.  We are not a victim here.  We are promised liberty.  Liberty from that which disappoints God.