Camping (Psalms 51:7)

“C’mon! We got the tent set up in the front yard!”

“Cool! See you tonight!’

When I was a child, my father purchased a small two-man tent for camping in our front yard. My friend and I often camped together. It was roughing it in the most sheltered manner. It was not what we now call glamping, but it was plush. We went inside the house to use the bathroom. The meals were cooked by my mother which we ate near the tent. I enjoyed camping in this controlled setting but never enjoyed camping on beaches, or in the mountains. It was because of the dirt. I hate getting dirty. This aversion carries over to smoking or barbequing, my two favorite activities. Unless I shower and clean myself of the smoke and dirt, I am unwilling to serve my food to my guests. I need to first be clean.

My aversion to dirt borders on obsessive-compulsive. What about my relationship with God? I am a child of God. Shouldn’t I hate sin with as much passion as I hate getting dirty? What does God say my attitude should be about sin?

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Psalms 51:7 (NLT)

Pastor and Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe wrote, “What dirt is the outside, sin is to inside.” If I am so concerned about dirt, I should be even more obsessive-compulsive about the need to cleanse myself of my sins. Thanks be to God that He answers my desperate need by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins. By His death and resurrection, Jesus reconciled my relationship with God which sin had ruptured. Whenever I confess and repent of my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me and makes me whiter than snow.

Praise God for His grace and mercy in my life!

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.