A spiritual leader asked Jesus to lunch one day and was amazed that He did not first use any isopropyl alcohol, potassium hydroxide or at least a little benzalkonium chloride before eating. Jesus used the situation as a teachable moment saying, “You are so careful to clean the outside... but inside you are filthy; full of greed and wickedness” (Luke 11:37-40 NLT)! Jesus is saying to us, “Hey, as you wash your hands or use sanitizer multiple times a day to stave off the Covid-19 virus, don’t forget to let Me clean your hearts to deal with the far more lethal virus of sin!” King David understood this. He asked, “Who can stand in the presence of our Holy God? Only those whose hands and hearts are clean” (Ps 24:2-3). So, if you recognize the strategic priority of keeping your hands clean to avoid Covid-19 will you also see the vital importance of coming to the Cross to keep your hearts clean? Can you imagine the peace, joy and hope you would experience if every time you washed your hands you simply prayed, “Jesus, cleanse my heart as I confess my sin!” And yes...do your part in practicing ‘social distancing’ to slow the spread Covid, but allow no distance between you and the Father who loves you and longs to cleanse you with His grace through Christ!

“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:7-9