Do You Need a Bath?

Some years ago there was a TV advert – you may recall it – that posed the question, “would you tell your best friend?”  I’m not for one moment suggesting that there are unpleasant odours in our churches, nor am I attempting to promote additional personal hygiene amongst our worshippers, but had you ever considered the many functions of the bathroom?

Naturally, it is a place for cleansing.  Little can be more refreshing than a morning shower, or so relaxing as a foaming bath after a hard day in the garden.  But is there another, less obvious, use for the bathroom?  How many homes these days - at least those below the status of ‘mansion’ - can boast their own private chapel?

Listen, if you will, to the excuses put forward why people find it difficult for what we euphemistically call a ‘quiet time’: a daily opportunity for Bible reading and prayer, a time to draw close to God on a regular basis.  Maybe you use them yourself: “I can’t find the time.”  “My life is so irregular, shifts and so on.”  “There is always someone else around.”  And to those who say these things, each one is true, and each one is apparently insurmountable.  For those who would dearly love to introduce this important habit into their lives, it is an increasing source of frustration, too.

Of course, we’d all like to be able to find time for Bible reading and prayer, and these are very important.  But there is another dimension to our spiritual life, one that even the most devout is liable to overlook: listening to God.  Which of us would face the day without at least a quick splash?  In all but the most overcrowded homes, our time in the bathroom is - and I use the word deliberately - sacrosanct.  We are fairly confident of being alone and, hopefully, unlikely to be disturbed.  So, how about next time you step into the bath or shower (we shouldn’t be embarrassed about standing naked before the Almighty - that’s how he made us, after all!) saying, in full and sincere expectation of an answer, “Hi, God, what have you got to say to me today?”

I love the story of the little girl who, in all innocence, told her teacher that she had found out where God lives.  “And where’s that, dear?” asked the teacher, expecting some deep theological wisdom far beyond the infant’s tender years.  “He lives in our bathroom,” came the reply.  “My daddy was standing outside the bathroom door this morning, shouting ‘God!  Are you still in there?’”

 

So, in all seriousness, do you need a bath?

 

Down Memory Lane

From time to time in my work, I go somewhere completely new, only to arrive at my destination and recognise the building or the location of the loading yard.  I don’t remember the journey, but I now realise that I have been there before, albeit several years ago.  Many more are regular jobs where, if told just the name of our customer and the destination town, I know exactly where I’ll be going, even down to the face or name of the person I’ll see when I get there.

Repetition doesn’t actually add to knowledge but it does embed it firmly in the memory.  This is true of relationships, too.  If you meet someone daily or weekly, you can pick up where you left off; you’re both part of the same ongoing story.  You know what is happening in your friend’s life, and they in yours.  By contrast, consider the experience of a friend who told me a few weeks ago of his visit to a primary school reunion.  He met people there whom he’d not seen for over fifty years.  ‘After a few minutes, learning what trade or profession each other has followed and how many grand-children we have,’ he told me, ‘there’s nothing more to be said, and you move on to the next former fellow-pupil.’

In his ministry, St Paul naturally developed close ties with the churches he established.  But these ties had to be nourished by communication.  When he wasn’t still with a community, he wanted to know how they were getting on; if he heard nothing for a while, he sent one of his colleagues to find out and report back (I Thessalonians 2:17-3:10.)

We can be just as close or distant with our Maker, too.  There is no doubt about His love for each one of us: “I have called you by your name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1), and His concern for the minutiae of our existence “Even the very hairs of your head are numbered.” (Matt. 10:30.)  The uncertainty comes in the fickleness of our regard for Him.  Our attentions are often a matter of convenience, but I’d like to suggest two key disciplines that can enrich and boost our devotion.  One of these is a regular pattern of prayer and worship which, once established, can be adapted and strengthened at any time!

The other is to use a prayer remembered from childhood.  One I recall is a bedtime prayer: Lord, keep us safe this night / secure from all our fears / May angels guard us while we sleep / till morning light appears.  Because it’s so deep-rooted, once a key word is said, the remainder flows effortlessly from memory.  So, thinking caps on ... what’s hidden away in the depths of your memory?

Once pronounced, these unforgotten prayers can become living reminders of God’s presence and His love.