In Church

There I was — sitting in church. I confess I was zoning as the minister talked. (You've never done that, have you?) Then, something Pastor Pete said grabbed my attention. (Was it the Holy Spirit moving? — Probably!) He said that, as he was mowing the lawn, he saw what appeared to be a stone in front of him, but when he stepped on it, it crumbled. It turned out to be a clod.

In my garden, I, too, have had the experience of seeing what I thought was a stone turn out to be a clod when I squeezed it. It left the stain of dirt on my hands, much like sin stains our souls. But unlike Pastor Pete, my experience didn't jog me to think of Micah's words. Pastor Pete read:

Micah 7:18-19 – Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (NIV)

Drawing an analogy to the recent Air France plane crash at sea, the pastor said that God has hurled our sins as far away as the black boxes were hurled, as was thought, some 20,000 feet into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

Likewise, God has utterly crushed our sins like my pastor's foot did that clod. But unlike the clod in my hands, nothing remains of them, because of Jesus Christ's blood shed on Calvary. Like the water in my sink washed every trace of soil from my hands, the blood of Jesus washed away every trace of the soil of sin.

All I could think was, "Wow! That's awesome. Imagine!"

Prayer: Thank You, Lord God, for ministers who listen to Your Word, then use it in creative ways to grab our attention so that we will hear You speaking to us. Thank You even more for hurling our sins as far away from us as the bottom of the ocean is deep. Thank You for pulverizing them like a clod underfoot. Thank You for washing us clean in our baptism. For we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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