Crimson Stain

"Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow."

Elvina Hall put it well in this song, fittingly titled "Jesus Paid it All". I have been constantly reminded of God's goodness, grace, and faithfulness in spite of the sinful man I am and continue to be. Are you ever blown away by how undeserving you are of God's love and Christ's sacrifice on the cross? It's completely mind-boggling. Time and time again I fall short of the kind of life God has beautifully intended for me, and time and time again the Lord welcomes me back into loving arms of embrace. 

He whispers into my ear,

I forgive you. 

I love you. 

You are my son. 

I accept you for who you really are. 

I cherish you.

I take pleasure in you. 

If we could fully grasp what these simple sayings implied, I have no doubt that we would all live truly revolutionized lives. 

The great challenge is to love and accept others the way we have already been loved and accepted by Christ. Judging others paints a radically different picture once we face our own fallen nature in the mirror. When seeing the gathering around the adulteress, Jesus told whichever man who without sin to be the first to cast a stone. 

They were left dead in their tracks, dropped their rocks, and left the woman. 

Lord, help me to embrace the sacrifice you made for me. Help me to not take advantage of the grace you have offered but to live my life in accordance with the Spirit's will. Thank you for cleaning up the crimson stain left from my sin and washing me anew. 

"The high priest carries the blood of the animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. 

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise- the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

- Hebrews 13:11-16