“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
One of my sons got a new white sweatshirt and decided to wear it to his grandpa’s to sell Christmas trees, although we recommended that he not because it would most likely get dirty. When he came home the next day, he had this big grin on his face as he said, “Well, you know how you and dad said not to wear my white sweatshirt because it might get dirty? Ummm, well, here it is mom, you’ll need to wash it.” Oh, boys will be boys!
This same son went to a youth group retreat a month or so ago and came home with the same type of grin when he said, “Mom, I kinda spilled my hot chocolate on my white hoodie. Can you spray it with something and wash it?” Both white pieces of clothing required two washes with Spray N Wash to get the stains out. When my son saw that it was washed, he was so happy that he immediately put on the clean sweatshirt.
God wants us to be washed clean from our sin to no longer live like our old sinful stained self and to happily put on our new self. Through His Word and the Holy Spirit, He lovingly warns us about our sin. Yet, He made a way for us to easily turn to Him for forgiveness. When we confess our sins, He washes us completely clean and we are made new.
We are washed clean through the blood of Jesus. God no longer remembers our sin (Hebrews 8:12)! Do we truly understand that He has fully washed us clean, no longer remembers our stains and created us to be like Him in true righteousness and holiness? When we grasp this truth, we will overflow with relief, happiness and joy, so much that, we will desire to share Him with others.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sins. What joy it brings knowing that You see us as righteous and holy. Please take our stained lives and wash them clean for Your glory! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
For further reading: Ephesians 4
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