Check out my previous post from The Net: Lesson # 1 before reading.

Jesus said this in Matthew 13:47: “Once again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net…”

The net represents our faith. So what lessons can we learn from the net that apply to our faith?

Lesson #1 Nets Must Be Mended

Let’s dive into the next lesson…

Lesson #2 Nets Must Be WASHED

Luke 5:1-2

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.

Nets have to be protected from the debris and junk that clogs them up. A net must be able to glide through the water quickly with no resistance. So our faith has to be protected from sin and negativity. When sin clogs our faith, we miss out on catching God’s plans for our life. As followers of Christ, we are still going to heaven when we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, but our life on earth may or may not be all it can be depending on our faith. You can still be going to heaven and live a bleak life. Negativity can get into our faith and cause us to not experience the abundant life Jesus talked about. We must keep our faith pure from the junk that tries to attach itself to us.

We have to live a holy life that aligns with God’s plans. We must obey what God has called us to do. Holiness is about living a pure life. Pure living is about obeying all of God’s commands. We don’t get to pick and choose what we follow; we have to follow ALL of God’s commands. Yes, there is grace, but grace is not a license to sin. Grace is not a pass to fly off the handle and disobey what God has called us to do. Our faith must be holy and pure. To keep our faith holy and pure, we have to live a holy life protected from the slime of the enemy. We can’t overlook the things in our life that are ugly. We must address the items in our life that shouldn’t be there.

Making excuses for our sin is no excuse at all; it is a crutch. We always need to strive to be more Christ-like in all we do, in every area of our life. That means how we treat people affects our faith, our attitude affects our faith, and our sin done in secret affects our faith. Mother Teresa said, “Holiness does not consist in doing extraordinary things. It consists in accepting, with a smile, what Jesus sends us. It consists in accepting and following the will of God.”

So what areas in your life do you need to wash and get clean? What areas in your life could be holding your faith back? When we have a clean net, our faith can catch more of what God has for us.