Today as I was out doing my errands for work, I ended up getting sprayed with gasoline while filling one of the mower containers. I had not put the tip of the dispenser far enough into the container hence it sprayed everywhere when I pulled the trigger. A pretty decent amount of gasoline covered my left hand, my left arm, and my left leg. I was none to pleased, of course, and proceeded to figure out a way to remove it from my clothes. I found that there was nothing I could do till I got home and could change to wash the clothes. It turns out that it is easy to be covered with gasoline and yet difficult to remove it. I noticed that the fumes from the gas were quite noxious and I ended up with a hurting throat by the time I made it home for lunch to change. I had visible stains on my clothes and anyone passing by could immediately tell that I was not someone to stand close to.
When I was covered by the gasoline I was embarrassed because of the mistake I had made and worried about how people would perceive me. The gas had soaked through my clothes in the places it had sprayed me and I had to also wash my skin to remove the substance and smell. I could not just use soap and water to remove the gasoline. I had to use a special soap to remove it from my skin and clothes. While I had the gasoline on my skin and clothes I was a walking time bomb. All it would take was a spark to severely hurt or possibly kill me. All I could think about till I was out of the clothes was what would happen if I came across this spark or flame.
Isn't interesting that many of the parallels of gasoline work also with sin. It is easy to get in to but hard to get out of. It affects you body, mind, and soul. It requires the Lord to remove the soiled parts of your heart for a deep cleaning. It affects those around you and put off an aroma that typically repels them from you or in sin's case maybe entices them to you. Sin invades your thoughts and clouds your judgment.
The Bible says these things about sin. John 3:20, "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed." Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Jeremiah 2:22, "Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord God." Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Romans 5:8-10, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."
Sin is something we have all be covered with. No one can remove it but Jesus, who has conquered all sin. All we have to do is ask forgiveness for our sins and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and He will come in and cleanse us of our sin. Though we are justified, which means we are presented as completely spotless and worthy of heaven before God because of Christ, it takes the rest of our life's to be sanctified, which is the Holy Spirit completing a continual work in us to bring us into a closer and closer likeness to Christ taking the rest of our life and only being completed upon our arrival to heaven. I hope you will lay your sins at Jesus' feet today and trust Him to do a good work in you and produce spiritual fruit in you for the rest of your life. If you choose to do this or choose to recommit yourself to Christ today, remember what Jesus said to His disciples at the end of Matthew about how we should live as followers of Christ, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Blessings,
Greg
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