https://odb.org/2024/07/26/jesus-removes-the-stain
One of the things I dread is eating my favourite Malaysian food and getting a stain on my shirt or pants. For example, from curry mee or hokkien mee or even wan tan mee. Fortunately, curry and black sauce can usually be removed if we immediately wash the stain with a bit of soap. But one ingredient, if present, may make the stain removal really challenging even if washed immediately is kunyit (tumeric in English). I love Malay food, and one of their favoured ingredients is tumeric. I recalled once holding a fried fish wrapped in a plastic coated paper, which resulted in a dripped oil stain onto my new M&S shirt. As they had seasoned the fish with tumeric, it was a disaster!
Thus, the concept of sin and its stain is very real as God is holy, and He can not accept the presence of sin in humankind; present because of the fall of Adam and Eve. As a consequence, we do not only have the stain of the original sin, but our flesh is also prone to sin being self-serving, selfish, and naturally egoistic. We are constantly challenged by the 3 elements that plague mankind – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is of the world (1 John 2:16).
However, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). We are now unblemished like the Lamb of God as the blood of Christ washes us clean as snow that there is now no condemnation before God as the redeemed of the Lamb (Romans 8:1) but note that for those who do not walk in accordance with the flesh but who walks in accordance with the Spirit.
In life, some stains are difficult to remove, like our past misdeeds and mistakes, even with the passage of time. Some do come to haunt us. But God is a God of second chances. He is able to see past our stains because of Christ. Therefore, dear beloved, let’s forget what’s behind and in the past, and reach out and forth for those that are before and ahead of us – Philippians 3:13. Let’s push on in our walk of faith and reach for the crown of glory that awaits us in Christ Jesus – our Lord, Saviour, and Redeemer! Amen!
Ronnie's Thoughts 