THE BLACK STAIN

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Many years ago I used to frequent thrift stores looking for unique and interesting items. I would usually peruse the electronic section as well as the book section. But I would also find it interesting and fun to look in other areas just to see the variety of things that people in our society decide they no longer need. You can find some strange things at times.

 

I remember one particular thrift shop adventure was in a store in Chico, Ca. As I entered the store I headed for the electronics section. I found two computer monitors that I was interested in, but wanted to test them to see if they actually worked. I thought I would look for a computer to test the monitors with. As I walked down the aisle, I noticed behind the shelves was an area where volunteers were working. They were sorting through boxes of items as well as cleaning clothing, shoes and appliances. One young man was almost directly behind the shelf where the monitors were, but he was deeply engrossed in sorting shoes.

 

I walked down to the end of the shelves and found a computer that would work. I picked it up and returned to the monitors. I hooked up the computer and then went to connect the monitor cable to the computer. I noticed that there was a shoe sitting on top of the monitor cable. Apparently while I was gone, the young man had decided to use the back of the shelf as a sorting area. I didn’t think he would mind, so I reached up grabbed the shoe and moved it off of the monitor cable. When I did this, my fingers felt funny as they touched the shoe. I finished setting the shoe down, but soon discovered that there was a good reason that the shoe felt funny. It was covered in dark black WET shoe polish! I quickly looked at my hand and sure enough, all 5 fingers had huge amounts of black shoe polish on them. I attempted to wipe my hand on a cardboard box nearby, but most of the polish had already dried on my fingers.

 

Reluctantly, I continued with my task of trying to test the monitors. I put them in my shopping cart and continued around the store. I attempted to hide my hand. It was rather embarrassing and I didn’t really want to admit that I had done such a stupid thing. I knew that despite all my efforts to remove the shoe polish stain on my hand it was probably going to stay black all day. There was no place to wash up, so here I was walking around the store with a partially stained black hand and new that the rest of my trip to Chico my black hand would be my embarrassing companion.

 

As my turn came up to pay, I smiled at the checker hoping she wouldn’t notice my tainted hand. She didn’t seem to notice or was compassionate enough not to say anything. I paid for my items and left.

 

I stopped by a Taco Bell for lunch and a miracle happened in the restroom there. I was cleansed! I managed, with warm water, soap and some very hard scrubbing to remove all the stains of my hand.

 

As I thought about my experience, I couldn’t help but make some analogies with my own spiritual life. How often do I commit a sin that darkens my life and hinders my relationship with my Heavenly Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit? How many such sins are intentional and how many are unintentional? How often do I, without meaning to, wound a brother or sister with my words or actions? How often have I personally chosen to not minister to someone that God has brought into my life for Him to work through me to serve?

 

These careless, unintentional sins are just as much sins that wound our Lord’s heart as ones we commit intentionally. Sin blackens our lives and marks us as sinners. Just as the shoe polish stains on my hand marked my body, so sins we commit mark our hearts.

 

We must ask God to use the Holy Spirit to convict us of wrongdoing which can be sins of omission as well as commission. Usually we are aware of the sins we intentionally commit, but often we are not aware of sins we commit unintentionally because our sensitivity and awareness of our thoughts and actions has not been developed by submission to the Word of God and/or the Holy Spirit that lives within us.

 

Psalms 139:23‑24 tells us to ask God to search our hearts for sin when it says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” This verse implies that there may be sin in our life that we are not aware of. There may be sin that eludes our perceptions that can be affecting our relationship with God and others.

 

Once we discover the sin in our life, we must confess it. Only by confessing our sins can we be truly forgiven and turn back to God. Once we acknowledge our sin and repent, God forgives us and cleanses us from it. I John 1:8‑9 addresses our sinfulness when it says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Praise God for His love and grace. Just as the soap and water cleansed my hands of the black stain, so Jesus’ sacrifice cleanses our hearts from the pain and penalty of sin. Psalms 103:11‑13 speaks of this, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the East is from the West, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;”

 

One point I want to communicate is that we are not to live under a burden of all the imperfections we have, walking in fear of how many sins we commit each day. We must accept the fact that we are in a process of becoming sanctified, holy and pure, which will continue all of our life. We never reach true holiness and purity until we get to Heaven. But we are called to be holy as God is holy and this requires us to be sensitive to how we think, what we say and how we act. This includes how we make decisions and respond to others with whom we come in contact. Our Heavenly Father wishes us to grow in holiness and become more like Jesus Christ each and every day.

 

As a Follower of Christ we should find it precious that we are a child of God; that we have a Heavenly Father who is merciful, thoughtful, loving and just. He loves us so much, and is so willing to forgive us. We need to be obedient to Him and strive to not sin, but also examine ourselves and seek to remain in fellowship with Him. We can’t make ourselves sinless, all we can do is confess when we do sin, and ask God to forgive us. As we grow in our Christian life, we conform closer and closer to the image of Christ. We should consider it a great honor and privilege to be called a child of God, a disciple of Christ and to have God’s Spirit within us as a counselor and guide to direct us according to the Word of God.