Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Stain

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. – Psalm 51:7

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9

In heaven, things are not stained or broken; everything is as it was meant to be…As George MacDonald prayed, "Gather my broken fragments to a whole . . . Let mine be a merry, all-receiving heart, but make it a whole, with light in every part." But you can't do this at a distance; you can't ask Christ to come into your wound while you remain far from it. You have to go there with him. - John Eldredge

A stain. I’m not sure how it got on my new shirt, but it’s there and it’s obvious. No problem. I will just spray on the stain remover solution, let it soak in the detergent and wash. Three times I “washed and repeated,” but yet it remained. Now I’m not sure which is more irritating: the stain or the removal process. Getting a stain out requires more than just applying the removal solution. The solution must be rubbed in. This takes participation and persistence. Only then can the stain dissolve to be washed away.

“…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13

God noted the same thing in my own stained heart. My heart is cleansed in His Blood, but it daily contracts stains that require confession for cleansing. He wants to talk to me, very specifically, personally, and sometimes painfully, about my stain. I must participate with Him until His peace comes. I may stare at the stain, talks to friends about the stain, and even reads the label on the "stain removal Bible". But to rub in the solution feels more like salt in wound than a healing balm. It's too much to touch.

He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. – Revelation 19:13

To wear the white linen, I must touch the red robe. I must press through the pain to know His healing. I am responsible for bringing my stains to Jesus’ cross; He is responsible for removing stains through His Blood.

Only His Amazing Blood removes stains. Rub It in.

Enjoy Him, Michelle
mlpack1@yahoo.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

awesome as always, Michelle. I love the way the Lord guides you through a topic with such depth. This gives me alot to think and pray about...blessings, Judy

Anonymous said...

Nice work Michelle and profoundly true, as they say ...grace is free but not easy! Sometimes I do the work, receive the forgiveness but, son of a gun, when I look at the shirt, all I can see is the stain!!!!