Bacilio Dominguez found his labor of love -- keeping the streets of his city clean seven days a week. This California man gladly puts in 11-hour days to do his part in keeping the streets clean. As an encouraging way to say thanks to Bacilio, people in the city got together and presented him with a special push-broom to help him in his work.
Nobody asked him to sweep city streets. He doesn’t want to be paid. Bacilio likes the exercise and does it because he wants the city to be clean. And at age 70, he amazingly shows no sign of wanting to slow down his pace.
We need more people like Bacilio Dominguez - people who are willing to make sacrifices to keep our cities clean. How about you? You may not have the time or desire to sweep streets, but what else could you do to help "tidy up" the city where you live? Working together, we can make a difference in our cities.
There’s also another place more important than city streets that needs a clean sweep. It’s
even dirtier than the average street. What could be filthier…our hearts.
God’s very concerned about the condition of our heart. He wants us to be doing some serious cleaning within before tackling stuff on the outside. We must first become clean as individuals, before we take on our cities. Only God can purify and cleanse our hearts. King David wrote in Psalm 51:10 (LB):
Create in me a new, clean heart, O God,filled with clean thoughts and right desires.
Because we’re all born separated from God, our natural desire is to please ourselves rather than Him. When we sin, in any way, we’re acting according to our own selfish desires. Like David we must ask God to cleanse us from within, cleaning our hearts and minds and giving us new thoughts and desires. Living the kind of life that’s pleasing to God only comes from a clean heart and mind.
Ask God to do a clean sweep in your life – then hit the streets!
