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?