CLEANSE!

That’s part of the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), on Piazza Navona, in Rome. The fountain is a magnificent piece of sculpture by Gainlorenzo Bernini (1598–1680), a dude who has left his mark all over Rome. This work of art has an obelisk surrounded by four gods of the four major rivers of the world (that were known at that time): the Nile, Danube, Rio de la Plata, and Ganges. This particular god in the picture is the Ganges. But ol’ Bernini got it all wrong: Ganges is female!

Over 1,500 miles long, India’s “national river” spans almost all of the northern width of the country. It is the holiest river for Hindus; in fact, it is a goddess, Ganga; mentions of it (“her”?) are found in the oldest Hindu scriptures. Some devout Hindus consider life incomplete if they have not had a dip in the river at least once in their lifetimes. I remember my Hindu neighbors (this in South India, far, far away from the River) keeping a bottle of Ganga jal (Ganga water) in their home. It is thought that the water from this goddess can cleanse one’s soul.

It’s true, only a divine being can cleanse sin.

Who can forgive sins but God alone?
Mark 2:7

Jesus, claiming divinity, took on that authority, calling himself as the “Son of Man”—his favorite self-referring title.

The Son of Man has authority on earth
to forgive sins.
Mark 2:10

And so the Psalmist appealed to God …

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 51:2

To be cremated and have one’s ashes dispersed in the Ganga is of great symbolic significance—George Harrison, erstwhile Beatle, did it, too. Not surprisingly, all of this popularity causes pollution to run high in the river: TIME once ranked the Ganges among the ten most polluted rivers of the world.

For Christians, the answer to the problem of sin is the divine being, Jesus Christ.

The blood of Jesus [God’s] Son
cleanses us from all sin.
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous
to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:7, 9

We all seek that kind of cleansing and forgiveness, that gives us release, redemption, relief.

Wash me, and I shall be
whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Psalm 51:7–8

The most important Hindu festivals occur on the banks of the Ganga, particularly the Kumbh Mela every 4–12 years, and the Maha Kumbh Mela every 144 years. The last of the latter was held in 2001, with 60 million people congregating at the Ganges—the largest gathering anywhere in the world in recorded history—all seeking absolution!

God recognizes that need for forgiveness. His love invites us:

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.”
Isaiah 1:18

For those who place their trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, that cleansing is accomplished—sin is no longer an issue separating man from God.

For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Elisha Hoffman (1878)

Take a bath!