Does God Have Dirt Under His Nails?

Does God have dirt under His nails? That's a question that might cause some to wonder, especially since God is holy and pure . . . not dirty.

God is holy, and He calls His people to be holy as well. He requires perfect purity all the while knowing you and I can never attain it. But that doesn't deter Him. He keeps working on us and in us, trying to bring us to the place where we realize that no matter what, we can never be holy or righteous without Him. 

But with Him and in Him . . . ah . . . that is where grace and joy and peace abide. 

It pleases the Lord to watch His children grow. He's happy to see our development as we pass through spiritual infancy, toddlerhood, youth, adolescence, and into maturity.

But let's think about "in the beginning" for just a minute. God began His relationship with people by fashioning Adam out of the soil of the earth, and it seems to me all these years later, He’s still getting dirt on His hands.

In John 15 Scripture records the parable of the vineyard in which Jesus called His followers branches in the Father’s vineyard. God is the husbandman, which means “earth tiller,” and in the enterprise of earth tilling, the husbandman is bound to get His hands dirty. I’m sure I give Him cause to “clean under His nails” on a regular basis as He continues to shape, prune, train, and refine me.

In his book Secrets of the Vine, John Wilkenson brings to light a beautiful truth in John 15:2, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."

That doesn't sound like good news for the unfruitful branches, but according to Wilkenson, “taketh away” in this passage means:

• to lift up,
• take up,
• or raise up new branches that have a tendency to trail down.

Instead of cutting off the weary, non-producing branches and throwing them in the compost pile, the vinedresser washes off the dirt, lifts up the branches and wraps them around a sturdy trellis. 

In the same way, God’s hands are at work in the lives of His people—cleaning away dirt, lifting us up with tender loving care and providing stability, even when we lack the strength or maturity to do so for ourselves. In the process, it's our job to remain tender and pliable in His hands with our roots planted solidly in the Master’s vineyard.

When I look around (including in the mirror) I see how so much of the Church has fallen into a mindset I’ve dubbed “Ivory Soap Christianity.” If we’re almost pure, doing our best, well, surely God will honor that. But 99.4 percent pure (like Ivory Soap advertises) is not enough, and we cannot in our flesh obtain the measure of purity and holiness God requires. So what are we to do? Where’s the hope in that?

First, we admit our human limitations. We have to move out of our natural ability and into God’s supernatural ability. That only comes when we recognize our dependence on God and His righteousness. By sheer determination and extreme effort, perhaps someone might be able to serve God and stay 99.4 percent pure in their thoughts, actions and motives. Regardless, no matter how pure any person can be by strength of will alone, without exception, every one is dependent on God's mercy to bring them up to His standard of holiness. 

Our abilities and strengths will never be enough, but there’s good news. Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary will ever and always be enough. How do we apply what He did to our lives? We begin by experiencing the new birth by repenting, being baptized in Jesus' name and being filled with His Spirt (Acts 2:38). If you would like more information, [CLICK HERE] to take a brief, self-guided Bible study. 

If you have achieved 99.4 percent purity, and God bless you if you have, you must still turn to Jesus to supply the .6 percent you lack to be holy as He is holy. Jesus is willing right now to meet your weakness with His strength, His mercy and His grace. 

Many of us are familiar with a popular verse written by Paul and recorded in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” I used to think this meant taking some mountain for Jesus. That it spoke of some pinnacle experience God would enable me to achieve. 

When my first husband was struck with cancer I learned a deeper meaning to this verse.
I can endure all things.
I can walk through every situation.
I can face every weakness and inadequacy and temptation in my life and overcome it through the power of Jesus Christ.

When the appointed time comes, the Lord is going to wash His hands one final time as He prepares for His wedding day, finally celebrating what He has worked and sacrificed and longed for—a marriage relationship of pure, beautiful intimacy with His Bride. I’m looking forward to that day with joy, thankful for God’s grace that brought me out of the dirt, into the Church and will see me safely into eternity with Him. What a day that will be.

In the meantime, my friend, we can’t live for only "the mountaintops" when the Lord is calling us to tend His fields and bring in His harvest. Fields are dirty places. But it seems God likes to work in the dirt. How about you?

P.S. I hear getting dirty is good for your immune system. :)