Oops

Question - When was the last time you made a mistake that you wished you could instantly erase?

We all make mistakes, some big some small. We often wish they would just go away. A few weeks ago I was playing a video game with my son Parker and after a really close race (which I won) we both tackled each other and began to wrestle. The problem was there was a cup of coffee close by that got knocked over in the process. No big deal if it was on the wood floor but it happened over the brand new rug we had purchased last summer.

Oops!

We both freaked out and the next 30 minutes were consumed with soap, wet towels, stain remover and baking soda. It slowly came out but there was much uncertainty about what would remain. Would the carpet look like it did before the spill? Only time will would tell.

Fortunately, after several days of subtle attention the stain disappeared and a crisis in our family (and marriage) was averted. We all make mistakes. It’s a fact of life. We will say something, forget something, look at something, lie about something, break something or ignore something we shouldn’t. Hopefully we don’t make the same mistake over and over again. (For the record my coffee cup will never be placed on the carpet again.) The hope is that the one or many mistakes don't leave a stain on our life. 

There are consequences for our mistakes. We might get a warning or after multiple fails, we might have to be disciplined for them.  The great news is that no mistake is too big for God to look past. He forgives the smallest and the biggest of errors. 

In Psalms 51:7 the writer says, 

This is God’s Message:

“If your sins are blood-red,

    they’ll be snow-white.

What an incredible picture of how something that can’t be fixed, suddenly is. It’s like the spilled drink that won’t come out of the new carpet.

But how does that happen?

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

To be in Christ is to take the stained life that we have and to see it washed new. To be in Christ is to see our mistakes that have brought shame and guilt on us thrown far away never to be seen again.

Whatever the mistake is that you made today or yesterday or last week or last month, know that it’s gone if you hand it over to Jesus. He loves you and forgives you every time. His love for you is so great that he gave his life for you so that you can have life to the fullest. We are washed clean by the blood of Christ that was shed for us on the cross.

Question - What is a mistake (big or small) that you made which you could turn over to God?

Prayer - Dear Lord, thank you for loving us on our very best and very worst of days. We hand over to you the mistakes that we have made recently and long ago. Thank you for forgiving us. We love you and appreciate your free gift of grace found in Jesus.

Amen