What comfort in knowing that no matter where I am at in my day, I can call on You, Father, and You are there. You encompass me in Your love. Thank You, Father!

Luke 11:37-41 (<<click to read the passage)

See the box there in my picture? It is made of cement and has probably been there as long as our house has been here. We’ve lived here for almost 31 years and our home was built 20 or 30 years before that. So that cement box has been around for quite a while.

Right now, we have a few mums around it that come up every year. We also have a nice crop of milkweed that started last year (hopefully, we’ll get to see some Monarch Butterflies mature on them before the summer is over – they love milkweed!) Also, I have two hanging baskets full of pretty pink petunias sitting on my cement box until we can get a space cleared for our shepherd’s hook at which point, we hang them up!

Regardless it’s a nice cement box, isn’t it? It was power washed not that long ago, so years of grit and dust were cleared away. So, at this point in its life, it is a very presentable cement box…right?

Some may already know, but that box contains the motor for our aerator which is a part of our septic system. Waste from our home’s plumbing system spills into the first chamber. Natural bacteria from our bodies break down that waste into smaller particles – solid waste falls to the bottom. Water containing those small particles spills over into a second chamber. The aerator pumps air into that liquid overflow. The oxygen forced into that chamber stimulates the bacteria there to further break down the waste found in the liquid. Aerated water then spills out an upper portal and is released into a drainage line that runs to the ditch that I mentioned a few posts ago.

Now wasn’t that interesting? I’ve been told that the water flowing into our ditch would be clean enough that a person could drink it and have no ill effects…uh, I don’t think so. But it is all designed to process our waste and after being processed have no ill effects on the environment. (By the way, our aerator system is regularly inspected by county endorsed professionals to ensure everything is in proper operating order.)

So, if you have stuck with me this long, you are probably wondering, “What in the world does this have to do with anything of a spiritual nature!?” And believe it or not…it does!

When Jesus was invited to eat with one of the Pharisees, He neglected (accidentally on purpose) to sit down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. v38

Now keep in mind, this was not part of the Law that God gave to Moses. This was one of the “additions” that the teachers of the Law had made binding for all “faithful” Jews. And even though Jesus was the guest – as we used to say – He lit into that Pharisee! Jesus said,

“You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.” v39-41 (NLT)

I have a nice cement box in my back yard but no matter how clean it is on the outside, no matter how many flowers and butterflies surround it, it still houses the pump that stirs the waste from my home.

We can look and act nice on the outside but in the end, it is the inside that counts. It is important to take care of our outside but our insides – i.e. our hearts and souls – must be clean in God’s eyes, as well.