As usual, after my son got up, I put his wet laundry in the washer, added detergent and turned on the washer. The washer made all the right noises. It hummed and clicked its way all through its cycle. Water came in and pumped out. When the cycle was done I reached in the washer to pull out what I expected to be clean laundry. That was when I discovered that my front loading washer had not tumbled or spun. The laundry hadn't been cleaned; it was just more wet from water being pumped over it. I tried over and over to get the washer to tumble and spin, but it wouldn't! It was broken!
As a result I hung the wet, smelly laundry outside on my split rail fence to dry... that is, I hung it there until it rained. Then I moved it inside to put over the bars in the bathroom to dry until I could get it to the laudromat. In the meantime, I knew I needed to open the back of the washer to see if the driver belt was broken. If that was the problem, I could order the part and replace it. Anything more serious than that, I knew I needed to summon a repairman.
The washer is a stackable unit with the drier attached to the top. The unit is in a small alcove that contains a large cabinet that stores my art supplies. In addition, a bunch of folding chairs are stored in the alcove. I knew these would have to be moved from that space to get to the back of the washer. Furthermore, the drier would have to be removed from the top of the washer. That's what I accomplished yesterday. So now, I have boxes of turpentine, gesso, tubes of oil paint, palattes, canvas boards, etc in big boxes on the floor in my living room. The large white art cabinet has been dragged out of the alcove and sits blocking entry to the stairs. Up against my dining room table (where I'm currently typing) is the drier. The folding chairs are stacked in the kitchen. All of this relocation of things just to get to the back of the washer! But it was necessary.
I found that the washer belt was in fine shape. That meant the washer had a bigger problem than I could fix. I called a repairman. He's coming later in the week. In the meantime, with everything relocated, it looks like I'm in the process of moving.
All of this has made me realize how much I appreciate the ease of doing laundry when the washer is working. And to realize that the problem is really big when dirty stuff can't be cleaned.
Waiting for the washer repairman to arrive has made me consider another Repairman. This other Repairman has set things right and keeps things set right in my squalid, polluted, and fouled life. He is the One who has washed me and wants to keep my deeds clean in God's sight. His name is Jesus.
Jesus wants to be both the washer and the repairman for our lives. He wants to cleanse us by His shed blood not just to sit around basking in our clean state (spun out and wet in the bottom of the washer), but in order that we can be useful according to God's intent (dried, smelling fresh and pure, and put to a proper and useful purpose).
I wonder, though, do we recognize when our lives are not what they should be? Do we let the Word of God and the Holy Spirit wash us thoroughly so we can be used with the intent God has for us. Our days can be humming along smoothly, we're clicking off tasks in their cycles, and lots of events and people are pouring in and out of our lives. But that does not mean all is well. We could very well be out of order, and we need to let the Repairman come close to us to fix us.
Often times, when we are especially busy, we need to take note of how crowded the alcoves of our lives have become. Are they packed with so much stuff (cabinets filled with supplies), traditions (folding chairs), and activity (whirling drier) so that the Repairman has no room to get to the real problem areas of our lives? The question can be asked both of individuals and of churches. What's filling up the alcove that is preventing the Repairman from coming close to us? Whether we're willing to answer that question determines whether our lives, individually or corporately, results in soggy, urine soaked blankets or a fresh pure work of God.
Now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you. 1 Corinthians 6:11b
