Yesterday in church our Youth Minister Colie gave the sermon because our pastor was at the men’s retreat. She shared a wonderful illustration that I liked so much I wanted to share it.
She said that we all start with a clean slate, like a blank sheet of paper, but over time we mess up our clean slate with sin. It’s like writing on that sheet of paper in ink. We all do this, though to different degrees.
If we try to wipe the slate clean, to undo our sin, it’s like trying to erase what we’ve written on a piece of paper, or to cover it up with white out. No matter what we do, we can never restore that sheet of paper to what it was before we wrote on it. Even if we only write in pencil, you can never completely erase the effects of what was written there.
But there is still hope. We can get a clean slate, a new clean sheet of paper, because if we confess our sins to Jesus then He will wipe the slate clean for us. He will give us a new sheet of paper. He will forgive all our sins if we just ask.
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 (NIV).
This morning as I was getting ready for work, the song Nothing but the Blood of Jesus by Jars of Clay with background vocals by The Blind Boys of Alabama came on my iPod. As I listened and sang along (I love to sing along to this one), I realized that it was the perfect song to go with Colie’s illustration.
Nothing but the blood and mercy of Jesus can wash away our sin and give us a clean slate. Nothing we do to try to atone for our own sin will ever work. We might be able to cover up our sin and hide it from the world, like using white out to cover up ink on a sheet of paper; but God will always be able to see our sin unless we ask Jesus to wash it away for us.
So what are you waiting for? Do you desire a clean slate today to start off 2012? Just ask Jesus and He’ll give you one.