Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

When I was a child and mother wanted me to go wash my hands she would often ask this question: "What does the Lord require of you? And my response should be to say "clean hands and a pure heart" and go wash my hands. Sometimes she would ask her question after I had already washed and she was inspecting to see how clean they were. She used this question and answer to teach a little child the truth of God's Word and specifically the message of "clean hands and pure heart" and also the practicality of needing to wash my dirty hands. My mother based this on the verses below.

"Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false." Psalm 24:3,4

It was an effective way to teach these concepts since I remember these interactions to this day. I frequently remember this when I wash my hands, even though no one is there to ask "what does the Lord require of you?"

As I grew I learned that Jesus paid the price for my sins—that even though my hands are not always clean Jesus used the soap that cleaned my hands for good. Also, my heart is not always pure but Jesus is working to refine the impurities in my heart. In Jesus, I have clean hands and a pure heart.

So, what does the LORD require of you?

Tim