1 John 1:7 – But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (NIV)

Coming home from sorting at the Thrift Shop, I carried with me several pieces of very tarnished silver. It had been agreed that these lovely showpieces would sell so much better if someone polished them. I volunteered, and the job became mine.

Retrieving the silver polish and a soft cloth, I set about my task. Within minutes, the results were amazing. The black tarnish began to wipe away and reveal the glossy sheen of silver. Using a small toothbrush, I gently scrubbed tiny indentations amid the overall pattern. Before long, it looked like I was holding a new creation in my hands.

As silver is such a soft metal, copper is often added to it to strengthen it before producing jewelry and other objects. The copper reacting with gases in the air causes the majority of the tarnish which forms on silver pieces, making regular polishing necessary to keep them at their brightest and most beautiful.

As I polished these pieces and considered the problem that tarnish creates, I thought about mankind and the tarnish of inherent sin with which we are born. Due to Adam and Eve's sin in the garden, all mankind was tainted. We lost our holiness, our purity. A darkness entered our soul. To the inherent sin of our forebears, we also add our own. But just as there is a polish which removes tarnish from silver and keeps it shining brightly, so there is One Who is able to polish or wash away our sin: Jesus.

The blood of Jesus, the perfect sacrificial Lamb, has the power to purify us from all our sin — past, present, and future — and to lead us back into the light of God's holiness and presence. In fact, the Scriptures tell us that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

Those old, tarnished pieces of silver that I brought home are now like new. We, too, can become new creations in Christ, cleansed from any and all wrongdoing that we have ever done or thought, or will ever do or think. All that we need to do is to humbly admit to ourselves and God that we need the power of the blood of Jesus' forgiveness to wash us and make us clean, new creations in Him. By doing so, we are led into the light of holiness and a new life that continues to shine brightly for all to see, while we walk in the light, as He is in the light.

Prayer: Father God, we praise You and bless You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus, Whose shed blood has the power to cleanse us from all the sin that tarnishes our souls. May many, today, come in humility to accept this free gift that He offers to all who call upon His name. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share on Facebook

About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada
Send your feedback to the author