“Create in me a pure heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

It’s clear I have a dirt problem… and in more ways than one. Sometimes I see it. Other times I don’t. Sometimes it matters. Sometimes… not so much. But it’s dirt! And the only place I see dirt as good is when used for growing things. But neither my pool, nor my truck, are farms.

As the weather warms and I begin to look at my swimming pool with a desire to jump in, I notice the dirty bottom. I notice it because the water is crystal clear, allowing for a clear view of the sand and leaves lying on the bottom. It is a daily reminder that ‘I’ have some cleaning to do, since it is MY pool and ‘I’ am the only one who can do it.

I took my truck to my favorite mechanic yesterday. It has a leak in the heater core that needs to be addressed. I’ve asked my friend to check all the fluids as well, since I can’t readily SEE if they are dirty or not. Dirt inside an engine has MUCH more potential for damage than when it lies under clear water at the bottom of my pool. I guess damage control is more the point when dealing with engines.

I’ve always been bothered by today’s verse today. David has just been convicted in his heart of a very dirty problem. Adultery and murder have a way of leveraging conviction to a whole different damage level. David asks God to give him a clean heart, and that puzzles me because I don’t know what Dave is really asking.

Is David asking for a new clean heart and expecting God to wave His magic wand to make it so? If so, can God even DO that? And if he CAN, why doesn’t He do it more often and with EVERYBODY? No doubt, like my pool, God can CLEARLY see the dirt in my heart. And if it is HIS job to CLEAN it, why doesn’t He do it more often?

These questions are serious ones that I have asked for decades. By now they are rhetorical because I already have learned and know their answers. God not only WON’T clean a heart alone, He CAN’T! Heart cleaning, like engine maintenance, takes cooperation between the owner and his mechanic. Cleaning and keeping it clean is a mutual and daily operation.

Are YOU clean and clear before God?