Down the Drain

Bible Reading: Isaiah 64:6; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 1:4-6

“Want to go swimming now, Lana?” Megan asked after lunch. Her cousin had come to spend the week with her.

“You girls can swim after you help with the dishes,” said Megan’s mom. “It won’t take you long. Just rinse them and put them in the dishwasher. Then wipe the counters and table and clean the sink, and you can be on your way.”

“Okay,” said Megan, taking plates to the sink. “Gross!” she exclaimed as she set them down. “There’s soggy lettuce and potato peelings in the sink. Yuck!”

“Yeah, and there are noodles and bits of hamburger too!” said Lana.

“Mooom,” Megan groaned, “will you please clean the sink for us?”

Mom laughed. “I meant to rinse that stuff down before we ate, but I obviously forgot. I’ll do it now and let the garbage disposal take care of it.”

“Thanks,” said Lana. “Nothing’s worse than garbage in the sink!”

“Not true,” Mom said with a smirk. “Sin is much worse!”

“Uh-oh!” Megan grinned. “While we wait, we’re going to get a sermon!”

Mom laughed. “Yep,” she said. “You say you can’t stand looking at the sink until the garbage has been washed away. Well, sin is so bad, God can’t stand to look at it. It had to be washed away by the blood of Jesus.”

“Even being really good and trying hard not to do any bad stuff doesn’t make us good enough for God, does it?” Lana asked.

Mom shook her head. “Any good deeds we do won’t make up for the wrong things we’ve done. In fact, the Bible says that when we try to make ourselves good through our own efforts, the good things we do are like filthy rags in God’s sight. The only way to have our sin washed away is to trust in Jesus.” Mom turned on the faucet. “Just like I was willing to wash this stuff down the drain with water, Jesus willingly shed His blood when He died on the cross to wash away our sin. We need Him to clean us. Then we’ll be good in God’s eyes and able to share His goodness with those around us through our actions.”

Lana smiled. “I’m glad Jesus washed away the garbage of my sin when I trusted in Him.”

Megan nodded. “Me too!”

-Sara L. Nelson

How About You?

Do you think you’re pretty good? By human standards, you may be very good. But the fact is that by God’s standards, you are sinful. God hates sin, but He loves you and has made a way for your sin to be washed away. Trust Jesus to cleanse you from sin, and He will make you good in God’s eyes. To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.

Today’s Key Verse:
Habakkuk 1:13 Your [God’s] eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

God hates sin