Stains

Stains

by Barbara Chadwick



I don't like stains.

Washing dishes the other day a favorite plastic bowl was stained with the sauce from chicken cacciatore. I used soap and a scrub brush with no changes so I added bleach to the soapy water and let it soak. This got me to thinking about stains.

So I went to the Dictionary on e-sword (a computer Bible program) It gave me the following words (the words in red)

Soil, v.t. 1. To make dirty... to stain; to defile
Soil, n. 1. Dirt and foul matter upon another substance
2. To stain, tarnish. A lady's honor will not bear a soil (stain)

I was in the bathroom at Barnes & Noble in Anchorage one day and a lady came in. She began to wash - actually scrub - her hands. As I washed my hands in the next sink I noticed that her hands were red and raw and yet she scrubbed away. I dried my hands and as I left I glanced her way again. She was oblivious to me as she scrubbed. What stain had so wounded her that she couldn't scrub it away?

Speck, n. 1. A spot; a stain; a small place in anything that is discolored by foreign matter.
2. A very small thing.

My mother bought a yellow wool sweater in Scotland and gave it to me. It's my favorite sweater. One day as I cooked a wonderful spaghetti sauce, some of the sauce just jumped right out of the pan onto my sweater! I have tried everything I ever heard about to get that stain out! I have worn it a couple of times anyways, thinking, "Who would notice?" But would you believe people's eyes would go straight to that spot?! It is now (after repeated scrubbings) a small spot but it has ruined the whole sweater.

Every time I see that sweater I feel guilty. Guilty that I ruined the special sweater that my mother gave me, guilty that I didn't wear an apron to protect it, and guilty that I didn't make the sauce that morning before I got dressed for company. I also feel guilty when I remember certain other things I've done or said.

But as a Christian feeling guilty is wrong. It's like a stain in itself. Satan loves for us to feel guilty because it keeps up in his grasp. But the Bible assures us that Jesus blood washes away all sin.

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." Ephesians 1:7

Discolor v.t. 1. To alter the natural hue or color of; to stain

We picked up a computer table at a garage sale. It had a dark stain on top. I thought, "No problem, I'll just scrub it off." I used Bam, then Windex, then Comet. It wouldn't come off! I asked Kenneth to sand it. Even that wouldn't take it off. The stain was too deep. So we bought some dark brown paint and painted the top of the cream colored desk. OK! I like it! A two-toned desk. Beautiful!

Whatever that stain was is still there but you can't see it anymore.

In Matthew 23:27-28, Jesus calls the Pharisees, "whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones. . . On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."

In verse 12 of chapter 23 He says to be humble. In verse 23 of that chapter he continues the discourse saying if you tithe but then neglect justice, mercy and faithfulness, you're a hypocrite!

It's easy to think of sins like murder, theft, pornography, etc. as being dark stains but Jesus put a lot of emphasis on the stains of pride, hypocrisy, greed and self-indulgence.

"First, clean the inside of the cup and dish and then the outside will be clean." Matthew 23:26

Indelible 3. That cannot be effaced or lost; impressions on the mind may be indelible; reproach or stain on reputation may be indelible

Melissa Greene says in, To Trust In You, "...after any trial or tragedy you have to get back up and take the next step with God. You don't have to figure out how you're going to make it to the end of the journey. You just have to take the step."

Stain v.t. 1. To discolor by application of foreign matter 2. To dye 3. To impress with figures in colors different from the ground 4. To blot, to tarnish, to stain the character.

What if our lives were so stained (impressed) with Christ that we exemplified the justice, mercy and faithfulness Jesus talks about in Matthew 23:12?

Stain n. 1. A spot 2. A blot 3. To cloud or obscure by Superior Splendor

Rev. 11:17 Lord God Almighty.
The One who is and the One who was.
Rev. 15:3 King of the ages
Rev. 15:4 for You alone are Holy
Rev. 22:16b I am the Root and the offspring of David, the bright Morning star

These last words are like an Ode to Christ:

Unblenched 1. not injured by any stain or soil
Unimpeachable 1. One who cannot be accused, free from stain
Unspottedness 1. The state of being free from stain or guilt
Whiteness 1. Freedom from any darkness. 2. Purity, cleanness 3. Freedom from any stain
Wipe 1. To cleanse from evil practices or abuses. 2. To overturn and destroy what is foul and hateful. 3. To wipe away a stain or reproach

Praise God the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin! We are all stained. We have all sinned. Just as every mother of small children carries wipes to wipe away stains from every imaginable kind of thing, Jesus Christ wiped away our stains on the cross. We continue to grow and change in our Christian walk. We can all say with Susanna Aughtmon,

"So here I am. . . I'm barely breathing after kids, work, church, disappointment and weaknesses cloud my vision. But I have the hope Peter had. God knows who I am and who I'm supposed to be, and even though I'm frequently caught napping, Christ isn't done with me!"
(from the book, Confessions of a Supergirl by Susanna Aughtmon)