Turtle Wash

Yesterday we pried a small box turtle off the hot tar on our road and took him home. He was very hot and buried with very sticky tar. It took us hours of careful cleaning and scrapping with paint thinner to free his legs and clean the bottom of his shell. It took awhile for him to trust us enough to push his legs out so we could reach in with damp Q-tips to loosen the globs of tar stuck on his legs and all around his toes.

Yesterday I had a good talk with Kim Hoffman at potluck about many things I have been learning. One of them was wiping the dust off your feet and what that means in the Bible. This morning I realized that for me the dust feels more like the tar on that turtle. It does not just wipe off easily; it has to be softened, scrapped and repeatedly rinsed to remove layer after layer of criticism, bitterness and self-righteousness.

Then it occurred to me what “washed in the blood” really means. Washing involves the transference of contaminants from one surface to a liquid and removed. If I allow, my guilt, pain and garbage can be softened and removed and given to Jesus. Then His identity and merit can be transferred to me.