In our highly technological society, a solution to a problem as small as a stain is certainly available for a price. Armed with an array of detergents and stain-removing agents, anyone is a fair match for a difficult stain. That is, if all of the snazzy before-and-after demonstrations of the infomercials are to be believed.
But the stain of sin is not like any fabric stain. It is not humanly possible to remove it. As Jeremiah reminds his hearers, there is not a soap available-organic or mineral-that can wash away the ingrained blemish of our sin. Scrubbing will do no good: the stain is impervious to our efforts. It would take an act of God to make us clean again.
And yet, an act of God is what Christ gave us on the cross. Ironically, the blood He poured out for us on Calvary has become the miracle soap that makes us spotlessly clean. Blood, a stain-causing substance, has become a cleaning agent. The before-and-after picture looks something like this: "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD: "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
By Jesus' blood, you are perfectly, spotlessly clean and fit for His eternal Kingdom. By the work of the Spirit He has given you, you can live a life of hope and expectation of an eternity of perfectly clean garments, praising God eternally for the miracle soap of Jesus' blood.
THE PRAYER: Precious Savior, You spilled Your guiltless blood so that I could be clean; enable me by the power of Your Spirit to live a clean life before You and to show those around me the value of Your sacrifice. Amen.
Written by Pastor Aaron M. Schellhas
Christ Lutheran Church - Peoria, Illinois
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