Stained

Have you ever put on a new outfit and looked in the mirror only to find your perfect ensemble tarnished by a small stain? It doesn't matter whether the stain is the size of a fingernail, the entire thing is ruined. No more perfection. Your eyes can't help but dart to the spot at first sight. Even if it's covered, you still know it's there, and you know that your adorable attempt at fashion has been forever marred.

When God created man, He looked at the world in His hands and said, "This is good. This is as it should be." But then sin came in and dropped dots of ink on us, staining our hearts. These stains ran deep, spreading out to cover our whole lives. They bred pride, lust, gluttony, wrath, envy, sloth, and greed, which grew like the branches of a tree to dip their tempting little fingers into our humanity.

True, we try to hide the marks. We put layer upon layer over them, but no matter how thick the sweater or how long the hem, they bleed straight through, ruining everything they touch. Our sin runs, rampant and uncontrollable. It never stops consuming all in its wake. These stains marked us as no longer perfect, as abominations in the sight of the maker. No one would accept a people as stained as us.

However, Psalm 51 reads, "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." The Lord sees through all our makeup. He notices the blemishes and knows we are flawed. But in His grace and love, He "provided a way of out" (1 Cor 10:13).

Besides the blessing of a Savior, God gave man a unique and incredible gift. The Bible.

So often neglected and taken for granted. We all know it is there (even those who don't believe) and that it holds profound truths. Unfortunately, we don't always appreciate the extent of its influence. Imagine how it would feel to be taught "wisdom int he inmost place"! Deep down in your soul, understanding and believing absolute truth. The recipe for removing stains is simple and in actuality requires less of us than we like to think: "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31). And what is more, it is the desire of the Lord of us to know this. That is certainly the wish of a loving Father.

In our world, we see sin. We see heartache and feel it worst of all. It's not hard to recognize evil around us, the stains on other people. When looking at our own messes, the image becomes less clear. We know ourselves less than we know anyone else. Within ourselves we argue, we second-guess. We think we have discovered the secrets of the world as we lay in bed only to forget them the next morning. It's almost humorous how ignorant of our own flaws we really are.

Though Christ has cleansed us, it does not end these. Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Renew. This is a daily battle, this fighting off the stains. When the Father looks at us, He no longer sees an article ruined, a mere shadow of the masterpiece it was intended to be. He sees His Son, but we still live in these mortal bodies that still bare the scars of sin. Constantly, the Lord must "renew a steadfast spirit" within each of us. The Word is such an asset in this! If only we would all know in our "inner parts" the reliability of this.

It's incredible, the love of the Lord, and it never sees to amaze me. Even when I fall away and forget that He is the one who brings all things, who completes me, He picks me back up again. Sometimes gently, sometimes with a kick. Knowing that He has made me fearfully and wonderfully is the best gift of all. As we enter a new year, I hope we will all realize this and will appreciate the magnitude of His blessings.

Fun House Called Life

You know those fun house rides? Where you'll be walking along and thinking, "Maybe, just maybe, I've outsmarted those designers...This wasn't so hard. I can make it through this without getting lost or disoriented!" And then, suddenly the floor falls out from under you. Your brain struggles to comprehend what has happened because it expects for you to be able to continue on as you have, eluding crafty trap doors and  the smoke and mirrors. But the reality is that you're falling, down, down, sliding into something completely different. Everything about the way things were before - thoughts, actions, the environment you've become accustomed to - all that is gone. Where will the slide take you?


Well, fortunately, the slide will most likely bring you to the end of your fun house experience. The staff associate will see to it that you have safely exited the attraction, and you return to your normal, every day life. The encounter with the trap door is but a vivid, if embarrassing, memory.

But what if you couldn't simply exit?

What is the life at the end of that slide wasn't a pathway back to reality? What is it became your reality?

The trap doors come out of no where and take us off guard. They throw our lives into a tumult of confusion with a mere flip of a latch, and we find ourselves stuck in a place we've never seen before. Whatever experiences we've endured in the past cannot act a template for this new situation because we've never been here before. Have you ever felt like something came into your life that you had no idea how to handle?

There are times in life where we feel like things are going pretty well. Even an average life isn't a bad one. Yes, it can get dull after awhile. You may even seek out the trap doors just for the thrill of them. In the grand scheme of things, however, being handed a way out, with nothing more than a ticket stub to show where you have been, is a blessing - a rarity. But more often than not, it's the trap door that finds us, and not the other way around.

It's a helpless feeling, falling. The mere sensation of it is enough to bring giants to their knees, atheists to churches, and prodigal sons back to their fathers. Control. Above all else, control is what we most value, if we're being honest. That's what lulls some people into a fake sense of security.

The ones who know about the surprise, who are expecting the ground to give way, are the ones who are most unprepared when it actually happens. They think they can handle it, so they aren't ready when the wave hits them harder than they had expected.

Who can see the future? Who can be ready for whatever comes next?

The answer is - nobody. Not one person.

Of course, this does not stop us from thinking we have it all together. At least we don't mess up like those people. Good thing I have self control, unlike that girl.

Thank God I'm better than that Pharisee.

Jesus knew who He was talking to (us) when he told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.* One felt like dirt, and he was holier than the one who thought he was ready for anything.

Truth is, guys, the notion that we're somehow above falling under the same things others struggle with keeps us from strengthening those defensive muscles. Like a rich, fat king who thought his power could save him, in the end all his "richness" kept him from behind able to even run to safety. The atrophy is over-confidence in our own abilities can be our downfall.

It's OK to screw up. It's OKAY  to not have it all, to not be it all, to not be there for everyone, to not get everything done, because in short, we can't do it. None of us can. Want to guess what this is called? Humanity. And the great thing about it is that this is why we need a Savior! Because on our own, we'll get lost the moment we stop walking in the light. That floor will open up, and we'll never be heard from again. When we think we can walk on our own, like an independent toddler on a pair of inexperienced legs, we'll head straight for the ground.

When we think we can do it all, even if we claim the Lord is in what we're trying to justify, we only fool (and hurt) ourselves. If it were possible for man to do it all, then we would have a whole bunch of Jesuses walking around.

There was only one Superman, and He is interceding for us every moment so that we will learn to walk in the ways predestined for each of us.

It's time to 'fess up. Throw down those walls of Styrofoam, lift up your hands, and call for the attendant, because there's no way you're getting out of this Fun House called LIFE without a Guide.

* Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else,Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."