Unstained

It was a horrifying sight–my one year old Toy Aussiedoodle came in with what looked like blood all over his white paws. Shocked, I grabbed him up only to discover that the red stain on his white paws was actually just food coloring that had transferred off of a new treat that I had given him. Whew!

Though fully relieved that he hadn’t damaged his paws in some serious way, you would have thought that I was killing him as I tried to clean up the mess. I’ve had several dogs in my lifetime, but this little guy has serious sensitivity issues. Some stains are easily removed, but this wasn’t the case with our male dog Satchel, and though I was thankful it wasn’t blood, the stain only faded to pink!

We all fall down, get dirty or just plain mess up sometimes, don’t we? The truth is, I have been stained many times–more than I can count–and it wasn’t always visible. Stains will penetrate deep in our heart if we let them.

There is a verse in the Bible that caught my attention long ago, and I have been pondering it for some time:

“Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27

Have you ever read something that just keeps coming back to your mind? When that happens to me, I sense that God is telling me to dig deeper. I know I’ve read that verse many times, but this time it wouldn’t let me go further until I really examined what I thought I was supposed to do with it.

“What do you mean, ‘what I was supposed to do with it?'” you ask? It all starts with belief. I absolutely believe that everything God has written in His Word is more than just history. It is more than just good things for us to learn. I believe God gave us the instructions for life and had them written down so we could clearly see His plan for all of us. He is the intelligent designer behind all that we see and experience. His plan for us all along was for us to know Him, serve Him and worship Him out of a deep love for Him.

James wrote this letter to encourage fellow believers in Jesus. Jesus had come and had walked among them. He had died, taking our place–receiving the punishment for our sin, and rose again after the third day. After appearing to hundreds of people and spending time encouraging His disciples, He ascended back into heaven.

“After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.  They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11

So what does this have to do with “unstained”?

Everything.

If you and I believe that Jesus is who He said He is, then we must believe what He said and follow His instructions. This verse in James is a warning for those of us who say we are “Christians”. The word Christian means “Christ follower”. The Bible is how we know how to follow Him, and this particular verse in James speaks to the danger of thinking that religion is the way to God. Belief in God isn’t enough–He wants us to follow Him.

“You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.“ James 2:19

James was a very practical writer. He was inspired to write down for all of us some gentle reminders of what living for Jesus should look like. Things like trials, obedience, relationships, true faith, attitudes and knowing God’s will. Important stuff, but……James 1:27 kept coming back to me.

I understood the importance of taking care of orphans and widows–and I’m still learning what that should look like in my life–but the “unstained” part bewildered me. How can we be unstained when we all sin and will never be perfect on this side of heaven? It all seems hopeless….

…but God.

After spending time asking God for answers and searching scripture, I can see how God used James to remind us that the enemy is always trying to deceive us and trap us, and the world is trying to pull us away from what is good and true and right.

“Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God… Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:4-8

Purifying our hearts–getting rid of the stains–can only happen when we live with a heart of repentance. We live in a world that is constantly promoting sin, the temptation will come, and Jesus is the only escape!

You can believe that something is real, but until you experience it for yourself, it is only a presupposition. Experiencing God only comes when we surrender to His lordship over everything, and the first step in that direction comes when we acknowledge that Jesus is who He said He is, admit that we are sinners and we’ve failed. We’ve messed up. He is holy and we are not. We are stained…

…but God.

“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.” Romans 5:8-9 

That stain in your life–on your heart? Jesus covers it with His own blood. His death and resurrection is where He defeated sin and death and hell! The Bible is clear: There is no other way to have those stains washed clean. Repentance is the door that opens our heart to the God who created us, who loves us, and who wants us to know Him–so much so that He came into the world to wash our stains “whiter than snow”. Psalm 51:7