Growing up, I never wanted to use the dishwasher. I thought it was such a waste of water and energy (which, with modern dishwashers, is not the case at all; in fact, hand-washing dishes uses more water). More than that, however, was my conviction that dirty dishes put through the dishwasher never came out completely clean. Occasionally, I would find remnants of a previous meal left on a bowl or a spoon. And to me, it made sense; how could I trust that this unseen washing cycle was really doing its job if there was always some blemish left after? I had no faith that my dishwasher truly worked, as it only ever yielded almost-but-not-quite-clean dishes for me to deal with.
As one progresses in the Christian journey, the necessity of both salvation and sanctification are revealed. For the saved believer, salvation is a one-time occurrence in our life. Jesus does not continually return to the world to offer Himself up, over and over again, but will return once more “not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him”
1. As such, the gift of salvation, having been received by the believer, happens once in our life. Paul writes to the Ephesians, it is “by grace, through faith” that we have been saved, a gift from God and not our own doing “so that no one may boast”
2.
While salvation is a singular event, sanctification is a lifelong occurrence. Throughout the New Testament, God reveals the necessity of being sanctified throughout our transformed life on earth. In Luke 9:23, we are told to take up our cross daily. Unlike Jesus, who carried the cross once for all, we are called to carry ours every day. The incomplete and present-day nature of sanctification is further made clear in other passages as well. In Philippians 1:6, the God of covenants has promised us that the work He has begun in our lives (after being saved) will be brought to completion on the day of Jesus’s return. As seen in Hebrews 10:14, through Jesus’ sacrifice, we are made perfect through Him. Notice, however, in both of these passages, the tense is indicated as present/future oriented; He will bring to completion the work for those of us being sanctified. Where we have been saved, by a salvation that needs to occur only once, God’s work in us does not end there. We still flow through the cycles of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and sanctification until the “day of Jesus Christ”, of which only God knows when that day will come.
In a way, the process of sanctification is a lot like the dishwashing process. Dishes get dirtied and need to be cleaned; likewise, when we sin and fall short of His glory, we must repent and be cleansed by His blood. However, dishes do not stay clean forever even after being washed. They are used, dirtied, and must be cleaned, over and over; after being saved, we will continue to sin, ask for forgiveness, and be renewed by Him. Where Christ needed to die for sins only once and our acceptance of this saving grace needs to happen only once, everyday in our life on earth brings the need to be restored, carried, sanctified again.
Throughout my life I have seen dishes slip out of my hands and shatter, rendered unusable and sometimes, cutting and wounding me. Each time this happens, it serves as a humiliating reminder of my own weaknesses and shortcomings. I am often prone to wonder what the point of this cleaning process is, if the process of getting dirty and getting hurt, time and time again, is inevitable. Though the continuous need to be sanctified can be disheartening and difficult, it is necessary as a fallen human being striving to live as a child of God. God does not view me as a chore to get out of the way, a burden and bother standing between Him and His will. Rather, God loves me so much that not only did He give His life to save me once, but cares so much to provide constant and present restoration in the midst of waiting for the eternal hope He has promised me.
Unlike a dishwasher, God is not fault-prone or errant. In my mistaken point of view, washing the dishes with my own hands is cleaner and more efficient. The reality of the superior efficiency of a dishwasher reveals that it, in fact, has a better understanding of how much water, power, and soap to use. Where my limited understanding fails, God’s understanding surpasses what I know or can even see. Though the dishes He washes may come out of the cycle with blemishes still, this is not an indication of an imperfect God; rather, the work in our lives is not yet complete. With our faults and imperfections, God reminds us that He has use for us yet
3. Though our lives may fall and shatter in our own hands, we are held by, cared for, and sanctified by the same One who authored our salvation
4.
