Article July 5, 1999 Issue

Cleaning ovens, cleansing lives

Could your thoughts be tidier?

By Virginia C. Van Gelderen

Ovens are not only self-cleaning now, but there are "continuous-clean" ovens. These models guarantee that there need never be a dirty oven again, ever.

Whenever I look inside my continuous-clean oven, I see a little pile of ashes, and it reminds me of two things: First, even though I can't see it, the cleaning process is working. Second, I don't have to be concerned about performing this process myself. It is an ongoing operation of advanced technology, nothing I do. It works every time the oven is used—not just sometimes, but continuously.

I thought about this recently while reading this passage from the Bible: "If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). I realized that the holy cleansing process the Bible talks about "burns away" false views of God and His creation. There may be things about ourselves or our fellowman that we think are natural, things like dishonesty, resentment, selfishness, or fear. Just as the oven is continuously maintained and restored to its original condition, so we are cleansed and restored by the purifying heat of divine Truth, which brings to light, and then removes, these mistaken concepts.

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