Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purity ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence from God. 2 CORINTHIAS 7:1, NIV
Our mission trip to Honduras a few years back was a blessing to everyone on the team. We were exhausted and dirty but spirits were soaring high as we completed the goals we had set out to accomplish during the trip.
At the end of our time working there, we decided to take an afternoon off and visit a local waterfall called Pulhapanzak, located in the nearby rain forest. The road to get there proved to be a challenging drive over a mountain range on a small dirt road, but we finally made it. One of the local leaders came with us to guide the group in the rain forest.
From a distance we could hear the thundering sound of a huge waterfall. We parked and found a muddy path in the forest that led to the river several hundred feet downstream from waterfalls. Our guide led us along the edge of the river on an old dirt path and over big boulders as we got closer to the falls, climbing over rocks and swimming through side pools till we were only fifteen feet from where the water crashed down on the rocks.
There was a little sheltered area there, where a few people stayed while a handful of us continued. The water pounded us so hard at his point that we had to scramble over the last few rocks backwards because the water splashing up against the rocks would hit our faces and felt like hundreds of pinpricks. We finally arrived at a cave under the waterfall where the water reached our chest, and there were only a few inches above our head. When we came out, it felt like we had gone through a heavy wash cycle in a washing machine!
God expects clean bodies from His children. This means that we keep our bodies clean and pure, but it also means keeping our mind and spirit pure. We do this to honor God.