Words of Wisdom by Teresa M

Recently I attended a women’s ministry luncheon. While enjoying lunch and conversation, my

eye caught the light-colored pants of a young girl that ran by. The knees of her pants were

covered in stains of emerald green. No doubt, this child had been enjoying some outdoor play

and was now unaware that her pants bore the results of time spent in contact with playground

grass.

My first thought, as a mother of three and Grammy of nine, was “Those stains are going to be

miserable to get out, if not impossible”. I wondered what might go through the girls head when

she noticed the stains or would she even notice? Would she feel bad about the stains and try

to get them out herself? Would she acknowledge to her mom that she had, by all appearances,

ruined her pants and now needed Mom’s help in getting the stains out and make them new

again?

I had barely processed this thought when I was reminded by the Holy Spirit that this was not

unlike the stain of sin that accumulates in us as we embrace the world and all that it has to offer.

Are we blissfully unaware that we are stained with sin until we aren’t so blissful anymore? Do

we try to erase the stain ourselves by trying to “be good” or “do better”? Are we willing to

confess our sin and ask for help?

When we come to Christ, the confession of our sins and acknowledgement that Jesus is Lord is

all that is required to permanently erase the stain of our sin. No amount of “good works” will

remove sins stain, it simply can’t be done without Jesus who shed his blood as atonement for

our sin and makes us new.

Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like

scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like

wool.”