Craig Clouston

Leaving No Stains Behind

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;

Isaiah 1:18

Jenny was up to her elbows in grass stains. To her, cleaning grass-stained jeans and elbows wasn’t a chore; it was a blessing. She smiled as memories filled her mind, and the exuberance of youth flooded her soul. She was remembering how much fun she’d had rolling down the hill behind the house.

Her kids had inherited her love of the outdoors, as well as the house Jenny’d grown up in, so naturally, they’d set out to see what the mystique of tucking their hands against their faces, holding their elbows tightly against their sides, and launching themselves off the precipice of the hill was all about. Jenny heard them laugh as they recklessly rolled to the bottom, only to race back to the top and do it all over again. By the time they’d had enough for one day, their jeans and elbows were as green as the lime Kool-Aid they were enjoying.

Jenny had scrubbed their elbows until she thought they’d bleed, all the while listening to their complaints of ‘This is child abuse!’ But eventually the stains and complaints vanished. The jeans, however, were a different matter. She scrubbed and scrubbed, throwing everything in her arsenal of cleaning products at the stains, yet they remained. Jenny smiled insightfully, No biggie, hearing their laughter is worth it!

†

The laundry detergent Tide claims, ‘It gets the stains out that others leave behind!’ And speaking from personal experience, it does a pretty good job. But even Tide can’t remove every stain.

Our spiritual disposition is much the same. While rolling down the grass-covered hills of life, many of the things we do seem fun and harmless…until we look in the spiritual mirror. And over time, the stains of sin mar our soul, our best efforts to clean ourselves up always leave stains behind.

The good news is…God can take away the stains that others leave behind. If we ask, He will wipe away every transgression, every smudge, every mistake, leaving no stains behind!

Prayer

“I’m dirty from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, Lord Jesus. And I haven’t got the power to do anything about it. Please forgive me, and wipe away every sinful stain You see. Amen.”