Struggling with Stains
By Dawn Tolbert
“As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one...’” Romans 3:10
Nasty stains can ruin the most beautiful gown—and social encounter. Unfortunately, I know this from experience.
I used to own an awesome white dress. The fabric and fit were just right, and wearing it always made me happy. Unfortunately, I always got something on it. That dress seemed to invite dirty, messy things to come my way. One dribble of food from lunch would shine like a neon sign for the rest of the day. When an ink pen burst in the pocket, that lovely dress met its final day.
No amount of washing or bleaching could ever restore its pure white.
My life used to be a lot like ink-stained fabric. My sins and mistakes left ugly blotches I could never wash away. I was what the Bible calls “unrighteous.” Picture a spiritual Pig-Pen (like in the Peanuts cartoon) with sins and disobedience swirling all around.
I was a hopeless mess.
Scripture says this is true for all of us. No one is righteous. Not. A. Single. One. Our sins have stained us and separated us from a holy, pure, and perfect God. No amount of work or scrubbing on our part can make us clean. We are utterly without hope … until we meet Jesus.
God’s only Son, lived without sin, took on ours. When He died on the cross, He became sin for us. His purity and righteousness were able to do what we couldn’t. He won the victory over sin and made us clean.
Apart from Christ, we’re a mess, but the Righteous One, Jesus, offers to make us spotless and pure. Ask Him to cleanse you from your sins, and He will. Oh, thank God, He will.
Dawn Tolbert is a contributor to Wholly Loved Ministries Daily Devotional, a Christ-follower who writes to honor God, thank Him for His goodness, and encourage readers by sharing her faith journey. She works in higher education public relations and is writing her first novel and her first book-length Bible study. She has earned a B.A. in Communication Studies and English (Gardner-Webb College), a M.A. in Professional Writing (Kennesaw State University), and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership (Union University). She and her husband, Larry, live in Cedartown, Georgia, and serve actively in their church. Dawn blogs at dawntolbert.com.
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Originally published Friday, 09 February 2024.
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