Washed As White As Snow

Today’s devotion is written by Katie Sweeting, author of Writing about Writing. Katie will be one of our new monthly contributors. Please welcome her here.

The caulking around my bathtub has a lot of dark moldy spots. It’s ugly and possibly contributes to the allergies and asthma we already suffer with this spring. I have tried to clean it when I clean the bathtub and shower, but just spraying on a solution and wiping it off has not worked. So I found a “cure” online. Take bleach and mix it with baking soda until it is the consistency of pancake batter. Slather it on the moldy spots and then cover the areas with plastic wrap. And wait. After several hours, check on the covered areas to see if they need an additional application.

Amazingly, the solution worked. The caulk was as white as snow, which is how God describes our sins once He has forgiven us.

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NIV

I thought about the process of whitening. The bleach needed to stay on the surface, and penetrate into the caulk to do its work.?? We want to be “white as snow” in Jesus’ eyes. We all need forgiveness. We all want to have our sins forgiven. The bible tells us that God will forgive us our sins if we ask him,

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John1: 9 NIV

But as I pondered the similarity of the whitening of my bathtub caulk, and the forgiveness of my sins, God revealed to me that it takes time in His presence. Just praying for forgiveness and getting up and going about our business will not be as effective as staying in His presence. We need to rehearse our sins before Him, soak in His forgiveness, and allow Him to do the work of cleansing deep within us. Our society lacks the humility, the shame (if I may) that comes with realizing and acknowledging the depths of our sin. A simple application to God in prayer will not do the job. I believe it is only as we stay in Jesus’ presence, soaking in His love, bathing in His forgiveness, that we can truly be cleansed and become as white as snow. Then the sin spots darkening our spiritual complexion will be washed in the blood of the lamb and become like wool.

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