Fight the Fight of Cleansing Light (Lent 37, 2017)

Parents hate it when their kids fight.  Unless that parent is our Father in heaven and the fight is the good fight of the faith, embracing His cleansing Light.  Fighting that fight is good because perseverance in our good confession brings glory to God.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time– God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

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I’m glad Jesus didn’t give up in the Garden of Gethsemane…throw in the towel, so to speak…or wilt under pressure.  I’m really thankful that He didn’t capitulate to human rulers and deny Himself under penalty of scourging and death. 

It’s called Passion Week because of the sufferings of Christ.  These days, people prefer the term “Holy Week” which—while true—lends a different nuance.  I think many modern people don’t like the idea of the suffering Servant (Isaiah 53).  They don’t like blood.  They don’t like sacrifice.  They don’t like the grisly notion that their sin is so bad that Jesus had to die.  Holiness sounds so much better and can feel easier on our uneasy consciences.  It doesn’t point directly to the depth of our sin. It just points to the beauty of God’s perfection.  Except for one thing: Cleansing!  Hebrews 9:22 “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

If you want to be forgiven, that means cleansing, and that means…blood…of the perfect Lamb of God.  Christ’s blood shed for you.

Fun Fact of Light: It disinfects!  There’s bleaching and cleansing!

• Fabrics: NaturaLux explains, “UV rays (found either in sunlight or artificial light such as fluorescents) act as a bleaching agent. Through a complex process, UV rays transform the water found in all fabrics into hydrogen peroxide, (a common bleaching agent) that leads to the fading of dyestuffs. High energy photons of light, typically found in the ultraviolet or violet spectrum, can disrupt the bonds in the chromophore (a chromophore is the part of a molecule that is responsible for its color), leaving the resulting material colorless. “
• Water:  “Using ultraviolet (UV) light for drinking water disinfection dates back to 1916 in the U.S. Over the years, UV costs have declined as researchers develop and use new UV methods to disinfect water and wastewater. Currently, several states have developed regulations that allow systems to disinfect their drinking water supplies with UV light.” 
• Hospital Rooms:  “Germicidal ultraviolet light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is particularly effective at killing bacterial and viral agents. No known pathogen can withstand prolonged exposure to UVC light, [and]…most contaminated areas can be serviced at a guaranteed three to six log disinfection confidence level in 20 to 30 minutes. Rooms are ready to occupy and use immediately.” 

For Further Thought:

• Read Jeremiah 2:22 Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign LORD
• How does the Light of Christ “disinfect” our lives from sin?
• How does it remove even the stubborn stain of guilt and offer forgiveness in its place? Read Hebrews 10:1-22 for insight.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your shed blood on the Cross.  Thank You that Your sacrifice cleanses once for all time and that when we encounter You by the gift of faith, we can be forgiven by Your grace.  We praise You for the abundance You give, even the faith to enter a relationship with You.  Thank You, Father.  Thank You, Jesus.  And thank You, Holy Spirit, for Your refining fire at work in our lives.  Amen.