Stain Remover

I recently bought a new phone case, deciding that plain black was too boring. I ordered the case, it arrived, and I was very happy with it. The color was bright, it fit great, and above all, it was very affordable. Once fitted, I began using the new case and carried on my business of spending far too much time on my phone with a new, brighter-colored phone case. Everything was great, but one day, the light caught the case just right, and I noticed some dark-colored splotches along the back. Upon further inspection, I noticed the sides were also miscolored and not as bright as they had been when I opened it only a couple weeks before. Giving the case a once over, turning it over, and inspecting it, I realized that everywhere my hand had been holding the case, or where my fingers had been resting while I watched videos or whatever I was doing, was now stained.

The obvious thing to do was to try and clean it. So I began digging through my cabinets, pulled out an all-purpose cleaner, and got to work wiping the case down, but it didn’t take long for me to see that the stains were not coming out. I went back into the cabinet and tried a different cleaner, but still no luck. I found an old toothbrush and, using various cleaners, began scrubbing away at the stains, deluding myself after a while that the stains were less noticeable. However, after a couple more days of looking at the case, I could see clearly that the stains were still quite prominent.

I decided I needed to work a little harder and try something more robust, so I pulled out some Spray 'n Wash for laundry stains and scrubbed it with a toothbrush, but again, still no luck. I returned to the cabinet, pulled out some OxiClean laundry solution, sprayed the case down, scrubbed it with the toothbrush, and wiped it off, but… still stained. By this point, I was getting frustrated. The case was cheap, but I liked the color, and it became a mission, something I was set on doing. I was going to get those stains off the case. I made a solution of regular OxiClean and hot water, soaked the case for 20-30 minutes, and then scrubbed it with the toothbrush… still stained. I searched the internet for other possible solutions, which included rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, and other chemical solutions… all of them failed.

No matter how much I scrubbed, what solution I applied, or how long I soaked it, the stains from my hands remained firmly planted on the surface of my phone case. I could scrub for the rest of my life, but I’ll be left with a stained case covered with scratches from my efforts to clean it.

By this point, I imagine you’re asking yourself, what’s the point? Who cares about your stupid phone case? Just buy a new one and get on with your life. The point is, my hands left permanent stains on something bright-colored and attractive. The presence of my fingers ruined something I enjoyed, and nothing I do will ever fix it. I cannot make it clean. For me, the option is to throw the case away or live with the permanent stains my hands left behind.

We all leave permanent stains behind, and no solution we apply will ever make right the sin we leave behind.

Sin is attached to us, just like the stains on my phone case. Every single one of us is filthy with it. Everything we touch, say, think, and do is destined to be ruined. No matter how good we try to be or what rules we set for ourselves, those stains are permanent. Those stains are hideous and embarrassing. Those stains are deadly. We cannot study our way out of sin or practice our way out of it. We are covered, from head to toe, from mind to soul, with deadly, shameful sin. We are hopeless and lost. But, unlike my phone case, there is an option for us. We don’t have to live with our stains or be thrown out.

Jesus Christ is our stain remover.

Sin isn’t simply a stain; it’s a crime we’ve committed, and the penalty for our crime is death. This is the significance of Jesus’s death on the cross. He died upon that cross, taking the death penalty upon Himself so that we don’t have to. All we have to do is believe it, accept it, and love Him. The stains on our souls are removed permanently, and we have life in eternity to look forward to. There’s no special formula to follow, no tricks or sleight of hand. Just believe. Accept the gift of life eternal by having faith. The choice is yours. You can go on living covered in humiliating and deadly stains, or you can be made clean and set free. It costs you nothing to accept the gift, but it will cost you everything to deny it. The choice is simple, but more people deny it than accept it. What will you do?

The choice is yours.  

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.- Romans 3:23-24

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.- John 3:16

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