Carpet Stains

 

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ater didn't work! Soap didn't work! Soap and water didn't work! In fact, no matter how hard I scrubbed, no matter how many combinations of water and other products I tried, and no matter how hard I attempted to follow all suggestions, the stain in my carpet would not come out! That's when I realized I would have to take drastic measures and get someone, an expert, to come and repair the damage. 

 

A few weeks earlier, I had been painting some rooms in my house. Just when the end was in sight, the unthinkable happened. With the last few strokes of the brush remaining, the paint can tipped over and spilled almost the entire gallon of paint onto my study floor. Quick movement was not enough. The carpet was stained and as mentioned above, all attempts to remove it failed. 

 

For the next several weeks, I looked at that stain. It was very noticeable and, despite my attempts to ignore it, it stuck out like a sore thumb. Finally, after the remaining improvements were made to my home, I called a local carpet repair company. They sent out one of their best technicians to effect the necessary repairs. 

 

He came to my home, observed the area, and promptly took out his knife, cut out the damaged section with a sharp knife, and then proceeded to replace the section. When he finished, the carpet looked like new. The stain was gone, and there was no longer any indication it had ever been there. 

 

Jeremiah 2:22 brings into sharp focus our attempts to remove the sin that stains our lives. “Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign LORD." The message is clear:  we cannot remove the stain on our own. We need someone, an expert at stain removal, to help us. 

 

Notice the great truth in this passage. All attempts to “clean” the stain failed. The stain must be completely excised, cut out, and repaired. No amount of effort on our part can remove the stain; God, himself, must do it and he does so through the blood of Jesus Christ. 

 

This is what John the Baptist meant when he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)  John did not say that Jesus would clean up the sin or wash over it. Instead, he boldly proclaimed that Jesus would do what none of the thousands upon thousands of sacrifices had been able to do. He would take the sin away!!! 

 

Do you have stains on the carpet of your life today? No one reading this can answer this question by saying no. If you are ready, God can and will cut out that stain and make you whole and spotless. That is why he sent his son, Jesus, to die for us. In today’s world this statement seems so devoid of intellect and yet it is most profound. No other device of man, no philosophy, no self-help technique, and no scientific discovery, can ever remove the stains that plague the human heart. Are you tired of attempting to remove the stain on your own? If so, won’t you let Jesus, cleanse and remove your stain today?