There’s an ink stain on my carpet. It’s been there for many years. You probably wouldn’t notice it much, but I see it when I pass by. If I could remove the stain I would, but there’s nothing I can do. Even if I temporarily cover it with something, the mark is still there.
God refers to our sin as a red stain. It’s a mark that I am helpless to remove. Sometimes I can cover it up for awhile, but it’s still there.
In Jeremiah, God addresses our inability to cleanse sin’s stain, “Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me.” Lye is a strong chemical that can even burn the skin. No matter how harshly we wash ourselves, it is not enough. But when we bring our stained life to God, He is not only able but also willing to cleanse us.
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7
Only God can remove the stain, but I have to offer Him the garment of my life for cleansing. Because He loves me and interceded on my behalf, I no longer bear sin’s stain. He has washed me and made me clean. I want to live a life worthy of this clean, pure robe, free of stain or spattered by sin. Let my life and actions reflect the truth of the garment I now wear.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes … Revelation 7:9
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