This Old Stove

Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us settle the matter," says the Lord.  "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Danny and I have been married for eleven years.  In that time, we have replaced all major appliances - refrigerator, dishwasher, washer, dryer - except one:  our stove.

It is over twenty years old, but still going strong.  And even though it's white finish stands out in stark contrast to the surrounding stainless steel of the fridge and dishwasher, we cannot rationalize the purchase of another one "just to match."

I find it hard to believe that with all the use our stove gets from Chef Danny, it has yet to give up the ghost.  And I do my best to keep in clean and shiny in between cooking sprees.  Her is what the poor stove looked like several nights ago after Danny got through with it.

I use 409 to loosen the grease and grime before sponging it off.

And sometimes, if a stain is really tough, I resort to the tried and true Brillo pad.

But no matter how intently I scrub, twenty years have left indelible scratches and nicks on the otherwise smooth surface.  From a distance, no one would ever notice.  Yet, we know all too well that they are there.

Just maybe, some of us, as Christians, are like the old white stove.  We have scars and remnants of past sins we don't want anyone to see.  So we hold others at arm's length, hoping they won't perceive our true selves, and bravely put on a clean and shiny facade when we sit in church on Sunday.

If we do that, we are deluding ourselves.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 2:23).  That means everyone, in the church, in the workplace, in the nation, in the world.

Everyone!

But the Lord our God settled the matter when He sent Christ Jesus to be the atonement for our sins.  Washed in our Savior's crimson, sacrificial blood, we are made as white as snow, without blemish or fault, seen by God not as a sinner, but as His beloved and redeemed child.

I may not be able to erase all those stains and flaws that mar the surface of this old white stove, but I don't need to allow them to remind me of my own imperfections.

Mine have been covered.

So are yours.

Alleluia and amen!