A Good Scrubbing

Nº 216

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - September 20, 2022

There is no sin, and there can be no sin on all the earth, which the Lord will not forgive to the truly repentant! Man cannot commit a sin so great as to exhaust the infinite love of God. Can there be a sin which could exceed the love of God? - Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamzov

My friend arrived to take his 90-something year-old father to an important meeting only to find his dad’s pants covered with stains. When my friend pointed out his spots, the father became indignant. He could not see the dirty spots and assumed he looked just fine.

Until we realize we are stained, we do not think we need cleansing. Why wash something that’s not dirty? Whether we realize it or not, we all need a good scrubbing.

David had some major “stains” that he tried to ignore and dismiss – adultery and murder. For a while, he denied his dirty deeds. But he needed to have them washed away.

Eventually he turned to the only source of cleansing that could purify him. He prayed, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1-2)

Pretending that we have no stains does not make us clean, only mistaken. Asserting that our pants have only a few spots does not mean they don’t need washing. We must all acknowledge our sin and ask God for the cleansing only He provides.

Dan Bolin President Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc