A White Shirt

Who doesn't love a clean white shirt? No stains. No wrinkles. Just a crisp, clean, bright, white shirt.

It seems as though I dress Conner in white shirts often. I know this because it seems as though daily he has another white shirt that is no longer white.

As we walk out the door everysinglestinkingtime I put a clean, crisp white shirt on him, I remind him as we walk to the car to stay away from the tires (I know this from experience) because although I know the marks from the tires will come out, I am also aware that I do not want every person we come in contact with that day to see that my son's white shirt looks as though he's had it on for thirteen days in a row. Yet every time, without fail, he somehow, someway, bumps against the tire. In fact, I can almost guarantee that the next time he has a white shirt on (probably tomorrow) he will have bumped against the darn tire.



The other day as we were driving, you guessed it, after he had just bumped the tire and I had chosen to just take a deep breath and let it go, I thought about how this must be how Jesus feels toward us. We start out clean and perfect and without sin. We know what we should or should not do, yet we all still sin.

You know one of the great things about Jesus though? Once we ask for forgiveness, the shirt is clean again, no stains. Sure, we won't be a brandspankingnew shirt but we will be forgiven nonetheless.

Another great thing about Jesus is that he doesn't judge us. He doesn't want us to feel bad. He doesn't want us to carry the burden the remainder of our lives. As humans though, for whatever reason, we feel as though it's our place to judge.

We say things like:

Did you hear about them?

Do you know what they did before they were married?

Did you know they got a DUI?

Did you hear what they said?

Do you know what they wore?

Do you know who they married?

Do you know what they're doing these days?

We're all guilty of asking, thinking, talking or assuming these things about people.

The bible says a sin is a sin, just as a stain is a stain. It doesn't matter how the stain got there, what matters is whether or not the stain can come out and thankfully, with Jesus, it always will, as long as we repent and ask for forgiveness. No sin to big. No sin to great. It will be wiped away. Gone.



One of my favorite songs says "Grace, Grace, God's Grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within, Grace, Grace, God's Grace, GRACE THAT IS GREATER THAN ALL MY SIN". Isn't that so true? How amazing that we have a God who loves so much, and who cares for us so much, that when we ask, he forgives and still loves us just as much as before!?!

In our lives, let's stop focusing on other people and what we think they have done that is "wrong" or "something we would never do" and start praying for those who we may be concerned about. After all, it isn't about who has sinned, we are ALL sinners, we should stay focused on getting that shirt white again.