Sand, Sand Go Away

It’s summer and the days are long and hot. Most people who wish to escape the heat imagine themselves laying out on some beach where they can lay out or hop into the cool, refreshing water. Everyone loves the beach, except for one thing; sand gets everywhere. You can shake, shimmy, and wipe down and it will not get rid of the sand.

Sand will show up everywhere. Sand in your shoes, in your bag, on your cell phone, and in every crevice and pore on your body. Sand does not come off easily. After going outside and beating your clothes and towels to force the particles of sand to let go, you will have to wash everything in the washing machine. You will have to blow on or use cans of compressed air on your cell phone or other electronics. But, for your body, you will have to take a shower. And you know you didn’t get all the sand off when you stand under the shower and the sand begins to accumulate at the bottom.

Sin is that way in our lives. We can try and try to get rid of it on our own, but we just can’t. The Bible says,

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Isaiah 64:6

There are many who try to fix themselves before they submit to God and His cleansing waters. The problem comes because there is nothing we can do with sin. We might improve ourselves by attending a self-help conference or by reading volumes by today's popular culture, but that will not do anything to cleanse us from the sin that sticks to us like sand. Only God can deal with sin.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Because sin doesn’t like to let go, it takes God to clean us. And when He cleans us we are truly clean. We love that old hymn, “What can wash away my sin?” and the great, great response, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus!” In fact, Jesus cleans us to a pure white, not a blemish or grain of sand/sin left.

“How can I be clean?” you ask. The scripture in 1 John shows us the path. We need to confess our sins. Confession involves not just a verbal recognition, but an attitude of regret. Just as a parent can discern a child’s true regret, our heavenly Father can discern our attitude behind repentance.

Going to the beach is going to result in our getting sand everywhere, just as living in today’s world is going to be filled with successes and failures, especially in our walk of righteousness. That knowledge is going to empower us, not weaken us. We are not perfect, we are going to sin. But, praise the Lord, Jesus is faithful to forgive us. And when He forgives us, it’s not just partially forgiven, it is completely forgiven. Completely clean. Pure and as white as snow.

Copyright © 2017 Jim Tippins Ph.D. Used by permission.