For all my life I have enjoyed brushing my teeth with some type of good tasting, good smelling toothpaste that made my mouth feel good and clean and my teeth appear clean. I would give my teeth and mouth a good scrubbing and with such a thorough brushing, I felt like I was as clean as could be. One day I was introduced to Plackers Dental Flossers. These are little plastic contraptions that have a narrow toothpick on one end and a side-ways U shape on the other end with a little piece of dental floss strung across the opening of the U. I found that after brushing the best you can, by employing the dental flosser, you can get depths of debris from between your teeth that is never touched by a toothbrush. I was amazed when I started using flossers. After brushing I would look good, feel good, smell good, and think I was real good – until I used the flosser. With it I was able to get down in between the teeth where the real decay and damage was taking place. One day after flossing, I looked at the debris in the sink and said to myself, “What have I been doing all this time. I thought I was getting my teeth clean all these years, when really the deep food debris was never touched.” I was making it look good on the outside while the really important part, the inside, was not being touched.
The word of God is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man (and woman) of God may be complete and fully mature, completely furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). To follow Jesus, whose name is The Word of God (Revelation 19:13), means there has been a cleansing and a change down in the depths of our being. It is more than just polishing things up to look good, feel good, smell good, and think we are good. The real, Spirit anointed word of God, the revelation of Jesus Christ, will dig into our hearts and lives and get the dirt out of our spirit. We can have years of church and “goodness” under our belt without a real spiritual “flossing”, and carry our corruption right on into the grave, and being without Jesus is hell. When we encounter Jesus, there is an in-depth change, and a lifestyle of turning from sin to the Savior. Just an honest coming to him admitting to him how we are and looking to him to take our lives into his hands for him to be Lord over all is the way to have the depths of our being cleansed. With the holy flossing from his presence in our lives, we can have a deep peace and assurance before God that everything is alright and we are truly clean.