The shirts were badly stained and wouldn’t clean up with just one washing. After several tries, there was one shirt in particular that had a very stubborn stain. The spot had faded but was still visible.
Finally I took some bleach, put it on a cotton swab and carefully treated the spot. Bleaching the whole garment would ruin the parts which had color. So I had to carefully dab the bleach just where it was needed.
When the spot did come out, I breathed a sigh of relief that the stain was gone and the shirt not destroyed.
Washing our sins
As I was working on that shirt, my mind turned to our Heavenly Father working with us. Our spiritual condition is sometimes likened to a garment and persistent sins are spoken of as stains on that clothing (Jude 23; Rev. 3:4).
When working with us, God must have to be very careful like I was being with the shirt. If the solution is too strong, it may get rid of the stain but may destroy the person by crushing our spirit. If it is not strong enough, the solution won’t do much good. God, too, must feel real pleasure when the cleansing agent does work and the persistent stain on our characters is removed.
If we work the same way with one another, we will also feel a sense of joy and pleasure at the outcome. We can help one another to remove the spots without destroying our love for each other and for God.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One