Jesus washes away and wipes away every last sin—big and small, known and unknown.

Maybe it sounds a bit strange, but it is true. The season of Lent brings to my mind a memory from my childhood.

We cleaned the church

My mom was one of the librarians at my grade school and one of the janitors at the church where my family attended. Library day was Tuesday, and cleaning day was Friday. That was the normal schedule.

Except during Lent. The additional Wednesday evening services meant an extra cleaning of church. So Mom combined the two roles and carried out both responsibilities on Tuesday. Before she checked out books during the day, she vacuumed up cheerios in the morning.

But she was not alone in her work. She woke up my brothers, my sister, and me for the task. At the crack of dawn, the unpaid volunteers got a chauffeured ride in the station wagon instead of the school bus. That happened every Tuesday for six weeks. There was a job to be done—hymnals to straighten up and pews to wipe down.

I will be honest. I questioned how dirty and dusty could the church actually be after only a few days? And I complained, "Was the added cleaning extremely critical and crucial?"

Jesus cleans our souls

I do not think that my mom was trying to teach me an object lesson or a life lesson. She simply wanted everything to look nice for worship the next night. But perhaps that was a good reminder of what Lent is all about—cleaning.

Do we need Lent again this year? Yes. It is a unique opportunity for us to admit and acknowledge our sin. The evil that we think makes our hearts filthy. The wrong that we do makes our lives foul. Every spot has to be scoured, and every stain has to be scrubbed. But we can’t clean up the spots. It doesn’t matter what we try or how hard we try. Someone else must do it for us.

That is what Jesus did. The One whose birth we celebrate on Christmas Day is the One whose death we see on Good Friday. He died, not for his own sins. He had none. He died for our sins and in our place. He laid down his life to give us pardon and grant us peace. His pure blood cleanses us. No sin clings to us. His perfect blood covers us. No sin remains on us—including the one  you still struggle with. He washes away and wipes away every last one— big and small, known and unknown.

But our Savior did not stay dead. He rose three days later. His sacrifice was sufficient. It was a one-time payment, and it is good for all times and for all people. No other payment is required. Easter Sunday shows us that.