How Much Washing Does It Take

We moved to Washington and promptly bought new appliances for our newly purchased home. New. New. New. Slowly all the appliances have been updated except the Washer and Dryer. The washer started making sounds, and research says it’s a bearing inside a bushing at the center of the machine. 4-6 hours to repair, and it’s a 2-person job. Spendy! Let’s live with it until it breaks and then replace it!

Of course, you have to listen to noise like a jet airplane taking off as the spin cycles sort the water from the clothes.

Finally! Replaced! The new one is much fancier with options I’ve never thought of. You could add more rinse and spin cycles from regular selections than you can shake a stick at! There’s even a “quick wash” that completes everything in 22 minutes.

This gave me pause to consider how much washing does it take?

Between the detergent, water, and temperature, how much washing does it take to clean our clothes? With all the extra rinse and spin cycles, how long must I make the machine work for my clothes to be adequately cleaned and spun dry?

When something needs to be cleansed, are you up to the task?
How much effort, water, detergent, agitation, rinsing, repeating, and then spinning it dry?

Isn’t this true about everything?

How much washing to clean the vegetables before putting them into a pot to cook? How long does a shower or bath take to do what you want it to do? Does my car need to be washed annually? My hair? Even my face?

When It Comes To Sin

When it comes to washing away my sins, is once enough? Would I be satisfied with sprinkles, or should I be completed buried in the water? The word Baptism means “to make completely wet!” That should make my choice easier.

Should I be like Naaman and wash seven times (before leprosy is cleansed) if I’m a terrible sinner? (2 Kings 5)

When traveling to Israel, I found that ritual cleansing was a standard expectation for travelers and those entering homes or temples. Throughout the lands, you could find places for ritual cleansing. From minor ablutions to those that cleanses the entire body with one fell swoop!

Jesus, who knew no sin, was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. John said, “It is I who should be baptized of you!” Jesus said, “Permit it to be so. It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:13-17) If you want to live right, then you must be baptized.

But what if I sin today, and I’ve already been baptized once? Must I be rebaptized? If you were baptized with John’s Baptism, then Paul tells us to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 19:1-7) But we do not find scripture that encourages us to be baptized again, and again, for sins that we commit today and every coming day of life.

Is once enough? It suffices. But we still pray for forgiveness of sins, and that’s a daily practice! Just read the Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew 6:5-14, Luke 11:1-4)

I knew a leader who shared a thought along this line:

How can we worship without first asking for forgiveness?
That means we acknowledge our sins and seek to be cleansed from them.
Then we can lift up holy hands in worship.
(There’s scripture for this! Click Here)

Wash me, David said, I will be cleansed. (Psalms 51) Do you want to be cleansed from your sins? You do your part – be available, willing, and understand the why. God does his part and removes all your iniquities. You will remember them, but once they are gone He doesn’t. (Psalms 103:12)

It’s that simple!