Cleansing Spiritual Germs: A simplified look at sin and reconciliation.
This is an article that I wrote with my group of hospital chaplain interns.
Many hospitals have recently waged war on germs. The fear of MRSA (the form of staff that is resistant to anitbiotics) has caused us to be more intentional about washing our hands than ever before. From a medical perspective, we recognize that we accumulate bacteria as we go through our day. The hand foam dispensers on the walls serve as a constant reminder that we need to cleanse ourselves in order to protect ourselves and our patients. We cannot provide physical care to others if we are spreading germs.
It is the same with spiritual care. As we go through our daily lives, we accumulate spiritual germs. We do things that get in the way of our relationship with God. Our religious tradition calls this sin. These spiritual germs lurk within us, and just like MRSA, they will take whatever opening they can get to infiltrate your life and fester. It also affects your ability to provide care to others.
Here’s the good news! As Christians, we know that there is a cleansing power in Jesus Christ. Through Christ, we are cleansed of our spiritual germs and we are reconciled with God. All we have to do is accept His cleansing.
Steps for Spiritual Cleansing:
1. Tell God what you did.
2. Tell God that you are sorry, and that you won’t do it again.
3. Ask for and accept God’s forgiveness.
If you go through this process regularly, your relationship with God will improve. By increasing your spiritual health, you will feel better about yourself and improve the way you care for people around you.
thank you for this, i have just done a message on this very title,,it started off with
germs, where does germs lodge, are there, small germs and large germs, causes of germs,answer and remedy, the answer is Jesus who only can cleanse us from spirtiual germs, through his words. God Bless
Hey, Sonia! Glad you liked it. You have reminded me that Jesus is the only remedy in the case of spiritual germs. Too often we try to do surgery on ourselves, and it just doesn’t work. Sounds like your message did a great job of letting people know who the true Healer is! Blessings to you!