Grace for the Asking
Along my entry walkway I have three terracotta pot people. Each made using terracotta pots of varying sixes placed together to form a man, a woman, and a child. Overtime these little pot people get covered in dirt, mold mildew and even algae. Periodically they need a good scrubbing to bring them back to their original condition.
Today was the day to scrub away their grime. I carried them into the laundry room and as I scrubbed away the months of grime, I began to think about how we are not so different from the pot people.
As we go through our days, we collect some hurts, habits and hang ups that bring out the worst in us and affect our lives, our attitude and our relationships. When layer upon layers of dirt, mold mildew and algae cover our souls it is hard to find the beauty God intended for us and is present in our lives.
As I thought of my grime: impatience, judgement, pride, gluttony my face grows hot (and not from the scrubbing of the pot people) but from shame. Like my terracotta pot people, I am overcome by the crud I have acquired and know that I must work to scrub it away.
We can scrub away the mold with His word; the mildew with Christian fellowship and the algae with a little effort and love to those around us. And how blessed are we that God forgives us of the grime we collect along our path of life on earth. No matter how many times we become dirty; God’s love, grace and gift of eternity is always there for us. All we need to do is ask.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:9