You can’t go in there like that!

On Wednesday March 23rd my mother entered into glory. She had battled long and hard, but has now entered into her rest. I miss her. What follows is an article that describes (some of) a Christian mother’s love for her children.

“You can’t go in there like that,” my mother exclaimed as she saw her sons about to walk into church covered in filth. When we left home, us boys had been dressed in our “Sunday best.” Our hair was neatly combed, our Sunday shoes polished, and our clothes pressed. However, given enough time between arrival and the church bell ringing, we brothers found a way to get into dirt and mischief.

My father was (and still is) a pastor. Which meant we were always at church, or so it seemed. Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday night and week-long revivals were the norm. There are few events little boys dread more than a long drawn out sermon, and we had (by my adolescent estimation) endured more than our fair share. A few minutes of freedom, either before services or during a break, afforded us the opportunity to unwind and blow off some energy, and we certainly made the most of it! Invariably, it would lead to us sullying ourselves, our clothes, or both, much to my mother’s dismay.

With a look of exasperation, my mom would do her level best to spruce us up. She didn’t think it suitable for the preacher’s kids to stroll into church with grass stains on their knees and dirt on their face. So, she proceeded to do what every mother has done at some point, and what every little boy hates; she licked her thumb and then began to scrub. Moms have the strangest way of showing love! I suppose a mother’s thumb and saliva could polish rust off an antique car’s bumper! Whether scrubbing the grime off our cheeks or the mud off our shoes, my mother wasn’t going to let her children enter church filthy.

No matter how often this happened, each time before we were allowed admittance to the place of worship, she wanted us cleaned up.

This simple illustration is intended to teach a solemn lesson. Before you can enter that eternal place of heavenly worship, you’ve got to get cleaned up! A change will have to be made – not merely to your body, but to your soul. Revelation chapter 21 speaks of that glorious Celestial City where the Bride of Christ will dwell. The Amplified Version translates verse 27 like this, “nothing that defiles or profanes or is unwashed shall ever enter it [the city].”

In other words, “You can’t go in there like that!

You see, each of us have a fallen nature that has been corrupted by sin. Romans 3:23 states “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Sin has sullied us; it has made us unfit for heaven. Our entire being has been contaminated by the smut of this world and by our own depravity. We are all not only sinners by nature, we are sinners by choice. These truths, however uncomfortable they may be, make it clear that we cannot enter Heaven, like we are; something has to be done.

In order to dwell in the Divine presence of the pure and Holy God, a transformation must take place. 1 Corinthians 15:50 states, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither can corruption inherit incorruption.” These fleshly corruptible bodies that house our souls, are slowing dying and decaying. Neither these weak mortal bodies, or our sinful natures can ever abide in the presence of the Almighty.

The good news is, by placing our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are promised a new heart and a new body! When we repent and trust that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again, we become new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The change that God makes in us, is not like what momma would do before church started. She could only go skin deep, but God changes the inside and will one day, renovate our bodies as well.

Let me be clear, a mother’s love and saliva may remove a few spots, but it takes the love of God and the blood of Christ to cleanse your sin! Scouring the outside may make you look clean, but God knows your every thought! In order to live where God lives, you must be given a new heart and a glorified body. The only way that can happen, is not by reformation, but by regeneration.

Trust in Christ alone and you will be washed whiter than snow.

– You can go in there like that! (And only like that)!

I will see my mother again, not because I’ve been cleaned up on the outside; but because I’ve been made new in Christ. What about you?

By His grace, for His glory

Pastor Lewis Kiger

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