Defiled

It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart. Mark 7:15

WHEN WE READ laws in the Old Testament about what made a person clean and unclean, we hardly know what to do with them. (Rules for dealing with various bodily discharges? Detailed guidelines on how each sacrifice must be performed?) They seem foreign, strange, and extreme. God’s intention was to reveal to his people how sin had corrupted creation since Adam rebelled in the Garden, as well as how this corruption of sin can and will be dealt with —through the blood of an atoning sacrifice.

When we come to the New Testament, we discover that the keeping of these laws had become an empty ritual devoid of any true sensitivity to sin. Speaking to those who washed their hands for show while tolerating the sins in their hearts, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah, who said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:6).

Jesus made it clear what defiles a person: “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness” (Mark 7:20-22).

As parents, we strive to help our kids understand that their attitudes and outlook —which are often betrayed not just by their actions but by their facial expressions and courtesies extended to others (or not) —have great significance. That’s because these matters of the heart indicate how close they are, both to us and to God.

Lord, in this list of things that defile, we see the sins of our children. And, yes, Lord, we see our own sins too. We are all in desperate need of the cleansing that only the blood of Christ can provide.

I pray for ________ today, asking you to cleanse him of evil thoughts and fill him with thoughts of the beauty of Christ. Help ________ to see the ways he has broken your commands, and lead him into repentance. Rid him of deceit, envy, and greed, and make him a man of integrity. Transform any lustful desires into eagerness for your transforming work. Humble him in whatever way you have to. Transform his foolishness into the wisdom that comes by being joined to Christ.