“Every French Fry Captured”

Touchstone Text

Mark 7:14–23 ESV

14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

New Car Smell!

Can you remember back to a time in your life when you finally, after saving up, and saving up, and saving up, were blessed enough to buy a new-to-you car? What is the thing that we always about that experience? Do you remember that new car SMELL.

Many of us in here, can then relate to the following train of ideas that then follow from this experience, usually it goes something like:

This vehicle, this time, will be kept clean!

I hereby pledge, that every weekend, I will clean this car.

I will never eat, or allow anyone else that has food or a beverage in their hand, to not only come into my car, but also to stand within a 3ft radius of this vehicle.

I will never eat a single french-fry in this car!

I have said those things, you might have too!

Then, after driving the car for a couple of weeks and moving through your daily routines, you notice that the outside of the car is… dirty!

“No problem” you think “ I will just take this vehicle through the car wash and for a $15 deposit this baby will shine like new!”.

It does! And then all is right with the world again. Until that day, when you are running behind, and you are little more hungry than you should be, because you had a rushed lunch, and you think to yourself “well, ok, just this once, I will run through the drive-thru at that golden arch, but I will be really careful and not make a mess!”

You do a pretty good job at not making a mess. Except, you drop one french fry, and it disappears into that mysterious land that exists between your seats. Of course you do what you can to try and retrieve it while hurdling down the road to your destination, but you cannot reach it. “No worries” you think to yourself “I will just get that french fry later” but life happens, and we almost never do.

This new habit of course then continues, because, there has not been a year in your life where the next month is less busy than the previous month, and after six months of neglect, all the neighborhood dogs run after your car as you pull out because of the overwhelming stench of stale french fries, it is somber and heavy smell, one that sticks to your socks and lingers with you throughout the day, everyone who is below the age of 55 knows what I am talking about.

And now we come to our main point: What defiled our new car, is not what happened on the outside, it is what happened on the inside.

That is Jesus point here in our text.

The french fry pile and that mysterious chicken nugget is the problem because they are on the inside.

Our Blessed Lord gives quite a list of those things that can take root inside of us and make us unclean. These things work on the inside to defile us, to change us from who we should be, who we have been called to be, into something that is nasty, that is unclean.

How to “Clean” our “Car”

In the same way that it takes discipline to keep our car clean, it takes discipline to continue to order our steps, our hearts, and our minds toward the will of God.

You see, eventually, in regards to your car, despite your best efforts, it will need to be cleaned, throughly.

When that is needed, we take the car to a detail shop.

It is there that every nook, every cranny, is cleaned out and restored to a “like new” condition.

In that same way, the Christian, after receiving baptism, when needing to be cleansed, to be forgiven, to reset our heart and mind back to a “like new” condition, back to how it was when we rose out of our baptismal waters, I would like to recommend to you a detail shop.

James 5:16 ESV

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Conclusion

We indeed can take our hearts to a detail shop, by surrounding ourselves with those that we love, that we trust, these people that we are hoping and striving to spend eternity with, we can bring to the attention of a dear friend, a brother or sister in Christ this area of our life that needs cleaning up. We can examine it, then allow Christ to purify that part of ourselves and it will, it does, feel so good as we drive way cleaned and whole once again.

Let us help you if you are struggling, that is part of the calling of The Church.

Invitation