Washed Clean

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.    —Isaiah 1:18

Along both sides of my driveway are stone walls made of rock-faced sandstone. The stones come in three heights, and until recently, were a grayish brown color. The stonework is good, and most of mortar remains solid. But, there was nothing exciting or extraordinary about the wall.

The church gave me a pressure washer for Pastor’s Appreciation month back in October. Last week (yes, seven months later), I finally got around to removing the bow and firing it up. We washed the driveway walls, and to our delight, the stones were not brown and gray, but red, gold, white, and tan. The pressure washer made the walls come alive in beauty. Imagine looking at the Grand Canyon in a black and white photo and then seeing it live in full sunshine.

Many persons live broken, dismal lives without Jesus Christ. They get by, and things seem good enough, but they have no idea how beautiful life could be in an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Isaiah writes, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow” (1:18). Past sins, failures, and rebellion leave stains and scars in our lives. The blood that Jesus shed for us on the Cross cleanses us from all sin.

As I power washed the stone wall, dirt, road dust, and mildew were blown away leaving clean, beautiful stones. Some of the stains had been there for years and may have been on the stones when they were installed. In our lives, some sins have plagued us for years. Others have been in our families for generations. Just like the high pressured water washed even nearly permanent stains away, Jesus Christ promises to not only forgive our sins but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

How do we receive this spiritual cleansing from sin? It’s a gift! Just as the pressure washer was a gift to me, salvation, eternal life, and forgiveness of sin are gifts from God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). A gift means two things. One, someone else paid for it. The people of the church paid for my pressure washer. Jesus Christ did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death to pay the price for our sins. Jesus can now offer us eternal life as a gift which He purchased.

Two, a gift must be received to complete the transaction. On a Sunday in October, last year, I was presented with a new pressure washer with a large gold bow on it. I said thank you. Mentally and ceremonially, I accepted the gift, but in reality, I did not receive it until last week, when I removed the bow, read the instructions, and started the engine. Then and only then did I personally and actually receive the gift. It has made such a difference—beautiful.

Spiritually, many believe there is a god and believe Jesus came and died for us but have never personally received this greatest of all gifts. John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Have you received the gift of God’s Son? Have your sins been washed clean? When we believe and receive, we become children of God. Friend, Jesus loves you. Jesus gave His life that you might receive life in all its fullness. Call upon the Lord, today. Receive His love and forgiveness and be washed clean.