The CRY of our heart (from Musings of a Pilgrim)
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Ps. 51:10)
This is one of the most frequent cries of a Christian's heart. In a world that so easily stains and contaminates us, we long to have clean hearts and a right spirit. Especially the closer we come to know God, and the more we encounter His holiness and goodness. How dirty I feel sometimes when I try to approach God. But I am reminded that it is not by works I have been saved, but by His grace (Eph. 2:8)
Create in me:
It is only God who can give us the clean heart and right spirit. In fact, interestingly, this word is the same word that occurs in Gen 1:1 when God created the world out of nothing. This is not something that we can achieve or strive for on our own. No matter how righteous we think we can be or how many good works we can do, the Bible reminds us that what we present to God as our very best are like dirty rags (equivalent of dirty tampons) in the sight of God (Isa. 64:6). This process has to be a divine act.
Clean heart:
One that is pure and free from the bondages of sin. There is no doubt that when a person truly chooses to follow Christ, His desires are daily transformed. We slowly but surely lose our appetites for the things that once entangled us. Our appetite grows for heavenly things and to please our Master. So though we still sin, our desire is no longer to remain in that sin but to strive for holiness and purity.
Right spirit:
A spirit that remains "erect", firm, established, unshakeable. How firm is our spirit? Are we resolved to follow the path that is set before us, to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? Or do we get easily shaken by the things we see around us and by the opinions of man? Let our spirit remain rooted in the foundations of the rock of Christ. Let our strength and resolve stem from spending more time with Him so that our trust in Him grows and we become unshakeable.
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