My Last Bath

One day I decided to have a talk with God.
"Are you really there?"
"Is this Christianity thing real, or
is it something people made up to make weak and incompetent people
feel better about themselves?"
I heard no reply,
but a mirror appeared.
And I saw myself.
I almost threw up!
It was a most disturbing image.
I was FILTHY!
My clothes were full of muck and yuck.
My hair was matted, with dirt, dust and...moving creatures
My teeth...
I cannot describe,
Let's just say I looked like one of those zombies from the movies.
So I did what any self-respecting, intelligent person would do.
I went to clean myself up.
I took a long shower,
washed my hair--using the best products with LOTS of soap.
Put my clothes in the washing machine, then dried them.
And you won't believe this!
I went back to that mirror,
and I looked EXACTLY the same as before!
What the...!
I was puzzled, befuddled, confused, and disturbed.
How could that be?
Perhaps I need to wash multiple times before I would be clean.
Then one appeared before me,
One like a god,
He was overwhelmingly beautiful!
In fact, so beautiful and pure that I immediately felt as I looked,
putrid, ugly--a mess
His beauty took my breath away
and I fell at his feet as though dead.
He spoke.
"Get up"
In my mind, I said, "I can't."  For I could not speak.
He responded as though he could hear my thoughts.
"Yes, you can.  I will strengthen you."
So I stood before Him vulnerably, ashamed of my filth.
So ashamed...
So afraid...
So dishonored...
And yet he spoke to me with such gentleness and love,
with such compassion,
yet with power and GREAT authority.
His words pierced my soul
and went deeper than deep.
He said, "Do you want to be clean?"
"I tried to clean myself," I replied.
"Do you want to be clean?" He said again.
" I was about to take another bath, in fact several baths and wash my..."
He interrupted me and spoke with such power that the earth shook and my soul vibrated with His words.
"Do you want to be clean?!"
At that, I fell to my knees in anguish and managed to conjure up a feeble,
"Yes.  I want to be clean."
He nodded His head and smiled.
He at once removed His glorious robe, leaving his under garments exposed.
He put His hands in a bowl of soapy water which I had not seen before,
grabbed a washcloth and stepped towards me with it.
At once, I stepped back.
"No, I cannot let you..."
He simply looked at me with those compassionate eyes.
"Ok." I said.
"When I clean you, you shall be clean."
And He began to clean me.
He washed my hair.
He removed my clothing and washed every part of me.
This glorious one knelt before me and cleaned my feet.
I had never felt so alive!
I had never felt so loved!
Every touch brought healing.
Every touch brought freedom.

When He had finished washing me, I saw myself in the mirror
and I was not ashamed.
I was cleaner than clean.
I was astonishingly beautiful!
Radiantly beautiful!
Amazingly pure--with no hint of the filth that was once there.
Then he brought me a robe.
It was a robe so pure,
so glorious,
so brilliant
so, so beautiful.
I reached out to take it and he shook His head.
"I must clothe you with my robe.  It is not yours to take, only mine to give."
It was His robe! You know what I was thinking.  I couldn't take His robe!
Again, reading my mind, He said,
"Receive this robe as my gift to you.  I want you to have this gift."
So I bowed my head, letting Him clothe me with His robe.
Truly words cannot explain what my eyes saw when He clothed me in His robe.
My eyes were filled with tears.
I was overcome with joy.
I couldn't speak.
Yet in my gratitude, I knelt before Him and kissed His feet and His hands.
It was then that I saw the scars--
the horrid scars on his hands, His feet, His side.
It startled me for I hadn't seen them before.
Reading my mind, He said,
"Yes, I took these scars so that you can be clean."
"Who are you?"
He replied, " I AM the one who was, and is, and is to come.
I AM the beginning and the end.
I AM the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
I AM the King over all Kings.
I AM the All-powerful, Mighty conquering one who delivers.
I AM...
               Jesus."