Sometimes change sneaks up on you so slowly that you don’t even notice it happening.
I have a metal coffee tumbler that I drink out of every day. When I first bought it, it was nice and new and shiny, but over time, the coffee started to stain the inside. I guess I knew that was happening a little bit, but one morning I looked down and realized just how bad it had gotten. It had lost the shine it used to have.
So I decided it was time to clean it out. But regular soap was not enough. That stain had really set in, and it took something stronger and a whole lot more effort to get it clean.
And I remember thinking, how did it get this bad? It’s just coffee.
But of course, it didn’t happen all at once. It happened one cup at a time. A little bit today, a little bit tomorrow, day after day, until what used to be clean and shiny was stained in a way I couldn’t ignore anymore.
I think the same thing can happen in my heart.
Jesus has made me clean, but sin can still leave stains when I keep letting it in. Pessimism, negativity, bitterness, pride, resentment… those things may not feel like a big deal in the moment, but they can start to build up little by little. And sometimes I don’t realize how much they’ve affected me until I finally stop and really look.
That’s why I’m thankful God does not leave me to clean myself up on my own.
1 John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
That is such good news. The stain may be real, but so is the cleansing power of Jesus.