Sent:  June 26, 2002

Subject:  Clean as a Whistle

Dear Ethan & Emily:

Have you ever wondered where the expression “Clean as a Whistle” came from?  I have not been able to determine the source, but it is a fact that a good whistle made from a reed or a piece of wood lets out a clear tone, but it can be easily damaged.  Small debris particles or even a few drops of moisture will change the sound of a handmade instrument.  In order to emit the pure notes intended by it’s maker, a whistle has to be absolutely clean.

Likewise, a person has to be without flaw to be “clean as a whistle.”  Apart from being made by a perfect maker, this would be impossible.  But the Bible tells us that Jesus through His death on the cross, has made us His “friends” and has brought us “into the very presence of God, where we are holy and blameless as we stand before Him without a single fault” (Col. 1:22).

What an amazing fact…that our lives play flawless and beautiful music before the throne of God because we have been transformed and “remade” by Christ!  But as we live our daily lives here on Earth, we can pick up “debris” and dust that can mar our tone and cause us to play “off key.”

Because a perfect instrument has to be made by a perfect maker, so also must an instrument to be perfect be repaired by a perfect repairer if it is to remain “perfect.”  And God has so provided when He included in the warranty agreement:  “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong” (1 John 1:9).  There is no bit of debris or any flaw that He cannot restore perfectly.

God wants us out of the repair shop as much as possible, as He desire that our lives play beautiful tones continually.  The Psalmist understood this fact very well when he wrote:  “O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with You” (Ps. 125:4).

My greatest desire for you is that you will keep your hearts and lives “in tune” with God every day and that in so doing you keep yourselves “clean as a whistle.”

Have a great day.

I love you,
Dad