Isaiah 1:16-20
Oh, wash yourselves! Be clean! Let
me no longer see you doing all these wicked things; quit your evil ways.
Learn to do good, to be fair, and to help the poor, the fatherless, and
widows.
Come, let’s talk this over, says the Lord; no matter how
deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as
freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can
make you white as wool! If you will only let me help you, if you will
only obey, then I will make you rich! But if you keep on turning your
backs and refusing to listen to me, you will be killed by your enemies;
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
When we spill something on
our clothing…the carpet…or the couch, our first instinct is to grab a
cloth or sponge and start rubbing! Often, the result is that we push
the stain further into the fibers and make permanent removal more
difficult – if not a near impossibility. Today, there are all sorts of
cleaners and sprays that can be applied to essentially “fizz” the stain
out and dissolve it. You have to be careful…some of the “oxi” treatments
can actually bleach the material(s). But much of the time, these
“treatments” work beautifully and can save a lot of trouble and
disappointment.
The kids are always saying, “Aww…I spilled XYZ on
my shirt.” I find that I am often telling them, “That’s okay…I can get
that out…” or “I’ll wash it, and everything will be fine.” (And
sometimes, I find myself scrubbing and “fizzing” a stain that proved
more difficult to remove than I imagined!)
Do you see where I am
headed? We are the “children” – God is the parent. We stain our
lives…He removes the blemishes. Sometimes, the “stains” have been
rubbed in…we’ve worked them over pretty well! Other times, the sin is
just so big that it takes more “elbow grease” to get it out, once and
for all. But God is able to do all of this…if only we will humbly admit
our errors and ask Him to forgive us and wash us clean!
OUR JOB
is to do all that we can to “get clean” - and stay that way…to be
careful with our words and actions. We must care for others and serve
God according to His directions…and never, ever “rub the stain of sin”
further into our lives. Some of us are so stubborn. We want to have
things our way…to turn our backs on the word and wisdom of God and do as
we please. This is our choice…but we must understand that we are also
choosing to risk the consequences of God’s displeasure.
Just
because we give our hearts to Jesus doesn’t mean that we can “stain our
shirts” and assume that He will clean up the mess. With redemption
comes responsibility…and we should be so grateful to Jesus for His
salvation that we would be willing to do anything and everything to
honor Him.
So I ask you today…what’s on your shirt? Have you
rubbed in the stain or tried to cover it up? Or have you made every
effort to allow God to clean you, once and for all…and worked hard to
keep things neat and tidy as you move forward? Will this be the day that
He washes you “whiter than snow”…and you make every effort to stay that
way? Don’t you think it should be?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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