The Cookies That Can Be Sin

Like so many women, I love chocolate. I love it so much that when my son recently played in a baseball double header, I bought a giant chocolate, chocolate-chip cookie along with a bottle of water between games. It was a hot day so the cool water was refreshing and the ooey-gooey cookie was delicious.

As I ate the chocolate dream riddled with melted chips, I was careful to wipe my lips and the corners of my mouth. I am notorious for getting chocolate residue all over the outside portal leading to my stomach. I was proud of myself for remembering that small, hygienic detail that cracks my husband up on the occasions I forget. After my meticulous, cat-like grooming session, I turned to talk to another parent who, upon gazing on my post-cookie face, told me I had chocolate all over my nose! After wiping the offending substance from my nose, I noticed chocolate on my forearm. Upon addressing that mess, I saw a patch on my other arm and then on my leg! Chocolate was everywhere despite my efforts to stay clean. Then, I noticed it on my white tee-shirt. That was it, I just had to laugh at the persistent chips that had melted onto my every appendage.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my cookie that hot day in the bleachers, I was a total mess. Much like my tasty tidbit, no matter how hard we try to keep our spiritual lives spotless, Christians often encounter ooey-gooey "sin" cookies that get all over no matter how hard we try to stay clean. And sometimes our problem cookie doesn't start out as a bad thing, but we end up dirty anyway.

For example, I discovered the joy of Bible study when my boys were preschoolers and I was in the Word almost twenty-four hours a day. I don't think any Christian would say that Bible study is a bad thing, but it became a messy cookie in my life when I started snapping at my children when they disturbed MY study time. It consumed a large portion of my day that should have been devoted to my role as a wife and mother. Although God loves it when we seek kingdom knowledge, I don't think He appreciated the way I was pursuing it. I was not presenting my boys with a proper reflection of God; what child is going to be drawn to anything that turns their mom a raving lunatic because of a simple interruption. I was cheating my boys and God.

I was also cheating myself. When I studied the Bible and let my other responsibilities slide, I became the author my own stress; my house was a mess, the kids were demanding the attention I neglected to give them, and my mind was stretched in so many different directions that there was no way I could effectively soak in the wonderful lessons from the Bible. I allowed my pursuit of God to become a bad cookie that left a mess all over my life even though I was trying my best to stay clean.

1 John 1:9 is often referred to as the Christian's bar of soap. "If we confess out sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (NIV). Although likening that verse to a bar of soap is a wonderful illustration, I like to think of it as a giant wet wipe; ready to go no matter where we are! Jesus is ready to cleanse us any time and any place. We can confess to Him in the bleachers, in a broom closet, in a church sanctuary, and even on our death bed. He loves us so much it doesn't matter where we are when we confess: He is the Living Water and the ultimate Wet Wipe. I hope that doesn't sound irreverent, but I love to picture Jesus being ready to cleanse us no matter our surroundings or the time of day. If I'd have had access to a wet wipe that day in the bleachers, I would have become cleaner a lot sooner, and much more gracefully, than I did by licking my fingers and wiping away the chocolate. Likewise, Jesus is far superior to any methods we can concoct to purify ourselves no matter how hard we may try.

Once the Spirit convicted me of the messy sin cookie I created because of my selfish Bible study, I confessed my offense in order to receive His cleansing. However, confession was not enough to keep me squeaky clean; I had to change my behavior. I adjusted my study time to when the boys were sleeping and also made sure I had not neglected anything that involved my husband or my housework. These small adjustments helped me find the balance I needed. I didn't always achieve my objectives with spiritual precision, but wherever I found myself getting a little dirty, I called on my favorite Cleanser, Jesus!

"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24-25 NIV).

Are you munching on a ooey-gooey cookie that is getting you dirty? Is it something that seems harmless but is out of balance? Is it a bad cookie that needs to be removed from your life before you can be cleansed? Some cookies (and the residue they leave behind) are easier to overcome with than others, but the cleansing method is the same. Confess your "cookies" and change your behavior. Jesus will be with you every step of the way, even if the cleansing process is long and hard. He will walk with you as long as you walk with Him. Practical Christianity calls on the Living Water, the ever-available Wet Wipe, and takes the necessary steps to be cleansed from the cookies that can be sin.