A NEW BAR OF SOAP

I was taking a shower the other day and realized the joy of a new bar of soap. It was a bar of soap that was still in the package prior to my shower; unopened, waiting for someone to open it up; and so I did. The new bar of soap was still as factory fresh as the day it was first made! It had no marks, no cuts, and no foreign objects. The edges were still as sharp and crisp as though it just came out of the mold. Some days I think that it would be great to start each day with the simple pleasure of a new bar of soap waiting for us to use!  

Unfortunately, the “joy” was gone the next time I took a shower; for once a bar of soap is used it is no longer new or clean. It had taken on a whole new shape from hands and hot water. The bar had become soft and the edges were now round. The bar soap that had been new before, was now slimy, and soft, and shaped to the hand of the previous user(s). 

And, no matter what you do with a used bar of soap, you cannot ever get it ever like it was when it was brand new. You can try scrubbing the bar of soap and it can still feel dirty. You can try “squishing it together” to reshape it, but you will never get the edges to be as sharp and crisp as when it came out of the mold.    

That used bar of soap reminded me of the reality that even after we take a shower and are clean, we, like the bar of soap, will eventually become dirty. As soon as we leave the sanctuary of the shower, we step into the world of dirt and grime. Our clean skin easily can become contaminated as we go through our daily activities. And that is just our physical body.    

A used bar of soap can be a reminder of a much bigger problem. Our souls (mind, will, and emotions) easily become contaminated by the filth of our daily activities. The “hot water” and pressures of life leave our lives slimy, and soft, and shaped to the mold of wrong mistakes.  

And, no matter what we do, it is hard to get our lives like they were when they were brand new. We try cleaning up our lives and they still feel dirty. We try new programs to attempt to reshape who we are, but never seem to be able to become as sharp and as crisp as when we first “came out of the mold”.  

We try “scrubbing” and still we have marks left by sin. The Bible says; “For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me," says the Lord GOD.” (Jeremiah 2:22).   

David, of the Old Testament was a person who had a commitment to the Lord and had been clean, fresh and crisp, only to become stained and misshaped as he found himself in the “hot water” of sin. David cried out; “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7).     

The hope of the Bible is that we CAN start over; no matter how dirty and slimy we are. The Bible is filled with stories of redemption; lives that had been marred and misshaped by sin and brokenness that were redeemed by the hands of a merciful God.   

The Prophet Jeremiah wrote in his book of Lamentations about a “new bar of soap” that is waiting for us daily; “22 Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. (Lamentations 3:22-25)    

We may not be able to start each day with a new bar of soap, but we can awaken with the hope that as we turn to God each day, we will find His mercy fresh and new waiting for us to use. Great is His faithfulness; in that we can place our hope! 

Are you ready to get your life cleaned up? Have you tried to clean up your life with no success? Are you tired of trying to do it your way?

Call 1-888-NEED–HIM; someone is waiting to talk with you.