Cleanse

We try really hard to be good people.  Despite our valiant efforts, we fail miserably time and again.  Today, let’s ask a question of how we deal with this failure?

Let’s imagine that the ‘goodness’ we work to maintain is like a nice clean shirt.  We’ll use a massive spaghetti sauce stain for our ‘failure’.  Now in this simplistic example, the logical resolution is to remove the shirt and to clean it.  However, in the very real and very complicated mess that is sin, simply ‘changing shirts’ is a troublesome task. We would rather not draw attention to the fact that we had to change our shirt.  So we put another shirt on over the stain.  You know, like an ‘excuse’.

Eventually we end up wearing way too many shirts.  We can’t function, and there is obviously something wrong with us. Changing shirts looks pretty painless compared to walking around like the stay puff marshmallow man.

So why is it so hard?  Our experiences may have taught us that being thrown into the fires of judgement and criticism simply isn’t worth the honesty. We live in a culture that does not condone failure but worships perfection and success. Unfortunately, this doesn’t get us anywhere.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:8-9

If you can’t stand living like the stay puff marshmallow man anymore, I invite you to engage Jesus.  In him there is no fire to fear, but cleansing.  For everything.  You are not held to the standards of men. You are the target of grace and peace through Christ.

Change your shirt.