As I lathered them up I got to thinking about sin. I know, a weird time to ponder the depths of the mystery of God’s mercy. My wife loves when I do that. Anyway, these poor dogs were being viciously attacked by a host of almost invisible predators and as much as they tried to scratch, there was nothing they could really do to get rid of them. It was up to me. So one by one I picked off the fleas, smashing them into the concrete to make sure they couldn’t bounce back.
It reminded me of the way sin creeps in, often without our knowledge. Only after it begins to itch, causing us trouble, we realize we have to do something about it. But no matter how much we scratch, there is nothing we can do to get rid of it.
Fortunately for us, God is more than willing to get His hands dirty, lathering us up and picking off the sins, and washing them away. Our sins are no more thanks to the blood of Jesus Christ. All we must do is ask for His forgiveness and allow Him to cleanse us.
I have two dogs, and as I was doing the dirty work, one of them was calm and let me do what I had to do. However, the other was not cooperative at all. He was squirming around all over and it took me twice as much time and effort to get it done.
Part of receiving God’s mercy is submitting to Him. It means that we have to cooperate with His grace, allowing Him to touch our lives and free us of the sins that hold us captive. Only after we realize that there is nothing we can do, that we have no power to save ourselves, can He make us clean. We won’t even have the urge to scratch.
Question: Do you recognize that only God can wash away your sins? Do you cooperate with His grace and allow Him to offer you His mercy? What prevents you from experience His forgiveness?