Leap of Faith Poetry's

DEVOTIONAL READING #4

                    Stained

Julie Schwartz

It was time to dye Easter eggs once again!  We took down from the cupboard four oversized white ceramic mugs and placed them on the counter-top. Each was filled with boiling water, then drops of food coloring were added with a little vinegar. Each mug had a different color of dye: one held bold red, another rich blue, a third brilliant yellow, and the last deep green.

The afternoon was spent dipping pure white eggs into the various cups, creating a basket full of beautiful eggs for Easter. My daughter begged to save the dyes a little longer - she wanted to color more eggs later. So the cups waited. A day went by, then another. Finally I emptied them, but the dye had somehow bled into the ceramic base, and now the outside of each cup had a soft pastel hue.

I scrubbed the cups, but the dye remained. I sprayed them with a cleaning solution, but still the dye remained. In desperation, I filled each cup with pure bleach and left them to soak overnight.

The next morning, I went to the kitchen expecting to see the cups bright white once again, but still a hint of color was visible on each one. Inside the cups I could see dark lines of color. Tiny cracks in the glaze that I had never noticed before were now clearly visible and filled with the bright colors of food dye. The imperfections in the finish of the cups were the first to show the dye and the hardest to clean. I was ready to throw them away having "learned my lesson," but little did I know that God still had a lesson for me in the cups. 

A few days later as I was studying my Bible, I read a passage that nearly jumped off the page! It was then that I realized that the "cup" was me and the "dye" was my sin.

Sin often seems so innocent and harmless, but it seeps in and spreads through our lives becoming difficult, and at times impossible, to remove. How clear it all was to me now... it was as if God was speaking directly to me, opening my eyes to my hidden sins. I thanked Him for His mercy and forgiveness. I thanked Him for cleansing me, for removing the stains, and making me pure and white again.

I have kept the cups. Each time I see them, I am reminded again to watch for hidden cracks of sin that may be permeating and coloring my life.

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." (Matthew 23:25-26)

READ ALL OUR  DEVOTIONS:         A New Year        The Closet of Forgiven Sins        There's More to Me...        Stained       Blessing, not Burden      My Father       Who are Your Giants?

Copyright © 1989-2008  Julie Schwartz

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 L. O. F. P.   Sarasota, FL