It’s cool to see believers in Jesus who reflect His cleansing ways. The band Jars of Clay is a good example. In 2003, they founded a charitable organization called Blood: Water Mission. The goal of Blood: Water is to bring clean water to 1,000 communities in Africa.

By late 2009 they had seen more than 600 communities transformed by fresh water. The organization also works with partners to establish clinics and provide HIV/AIDS testing and education. These efforts reflect the passon of Jars of Clay to see Africans experience both clean blood and clean water.

The writer of Hebrews describes the purification of hearts that Jesus has brought about by His sacrifice on the cross. We can enter “the presence of God with sincere hearts” because we have “been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).

Why did our hearts need this deep cleaning? Because each of us is born with a sinful one (Jeremiah 17:9). Only by the blood of Jesus, the sole perfect sacrifice without blemish, could we be set free from the stain and death brought by sin (Hebrews 10:4-10).

Once cleaned and redeemed, however, we’re not called to be sparkling statues that portray God’s purifying ways. No, He wants us to pick up our jars and pour out fresh water. He wants us to be about the business of cleansing the world in His power and for His glory. A cleansed heart should naturally flow with “acts of love and good works,” according to the writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 10:24).

Few of us will be called to initiate something as big as Blood:Water Mission. But each small act that points people to the cleansing blood of Christ is just as profound. What are you doing as a purifying agent for Jesus in your part of the world?