Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but I think that God loves DIRT!

Moldova is full of dirt…dark, rich, black, fertile soil. Hands are permanently dirt-stained from hours spent working the gardens and fields. Streets vary from dusty to muddy, depending how recent the last rainfall. When it rains, even the asphalt roads are muddy! I am always struggling to free my Speed-the-Light vehicle from the dirt, whether windblown or from the muddy roads.

I live in a country that is in touch with its roots—dirt! And I’m getting rather fond of the dirt!

The reason we are here, though, is to deal with the stains of the soul. As I stood in the courtyard of the high-security prison, I stared at faces of men whose lives had been dragged through the dirt. The prisons here are filthy beyond description, with odors that match (Bad enough that you cannot walk into the toilet area)!

As I observed the faces of men, pressed against the bars of their cells, listening to the gospel message, I realized that though these men are encrusted in grime, both literally and spiritually, God loves each of them.

In one village, as I sat next to a small four-year-old boy, I couldn’t help but notice his dirty shoes, toes nearly pushed through the worn-out leather. When his smile burst through his dirty face, I couldn’t help but feel my heart go out to him. When you spend your day playing in dusty streets, it is hard to avoid a little dirt. God loves that dirty face.

Yet you would be amazed how obsessive Moldovans are about dirt on their shoes! Through winter and spring, as we walk into church from where I parked the truck, our shoes cannot escape the clawing tentacles of mud. No one can avoid the mud. And the first thing every Moldovan does is scrape and wipe his or her shoes clean. They clean and polish them every day, forever undaunted by the daily dirt attack. They know you are an American if your shoes aren’t freshly polished!

Moldova’s dirt situation describes our world so clearly. The stains of sin are inescapable, working into the crevices of every life. No one escapes its reach, for the filth has stained everyone. (Rom. 3:23) And people are desperate to get clean, free from the dirt of sin.

Some try religion, but it won’t remove the stain. Some try pleasure, but that just puts a shiny coat over the surface. Some try materialism, or Islam, or drugs or alcohol. But they can’t get clean.

There is only one way to get clean—the blood of Jesus Christ, His forgiveness, His grace, and His mercy. That is the only way to remove the stains of sin.

Quit trying to scrub the dirt off yourself. Go to the cross. If you’ve already found that forgiveness, then I encourage you to get out and start working in the dirt. Don’t worry about your clean church clothes, kneel down and labor among the dirty. Hold a dirty child in your arms. Build a friendship with the crusty old man who lives down the street. Volunteer to help at the local soup kitchen. Let a little dirt rub into your hands, your clothes, and your shoes.

Most importantly, introduce them to the One who can truly make them clean.

Living in the Dirt of Moldova,

Andy Raatz