Remember Their Sins No More

Did you see that stock in Etch-a-Sketch has skyrocketed? And yesterday, Bestbuy.com had a sale on Etch-a-Sketches. In case you live under a rock, this is all in direct result of Mitt Romney's campaign manager telling a news reporter that once Romney seals the nomination, he will start with a clean slate in discussing his policies with the American people, like an "Etch-a-Sketch" when you clear it off by shaking it. Considering that the biggest fear about Romney is that he says what is expedient, and has no solid core conservative values, this was about the least comforting metaphor he needed to seal the nomination. Just what we need. An Etch-a-Sketch for a leader.

But it shows the power of celebrity utterances. I hope he has a slip of the tongue and reports next that he is reading the two wonderful books written by Vicky Kaseorg. Imagine what that would do for my sales! Better get yours before the run begins!

On the other hand, it would be great if we all were Etch-a-Sketches. What if every stupid word we said could just be erased with a shake? What if every stupid thing we did could vanish like the magnetic dust when it is jostled in an Etch-a-Sketch? What if we could redraw the picture of our lives and if we didn't like how it was turning out, just smack the screen and start all over?

My grandmom had two passions- bread and shoes. The bread I get- who doesn't love a warm, freshly made, fragrant bread? But shoes? Why shoes? I have a thing about shoes too. I know I have mentioned on this blog that I am forever on the quest for a comfortable and beautiful shoe. The shoe manufacturers have a creed they all must swear by and sign, however, that says that a shoe shall not be beautiful AND comfortable. It may be one or the other, but it is a penalty punishable by death to make a shoe that is both. However, maybe my quest is more along the lines of the Etch-a-Sketch idea. With a new pair of shoes, one walks a new way, maybe trods a new path. Old shoes and old ways are erased. New shoes, new life! One never knows what kind of new adventures one might travel if only one has the right kind of shoe.

This is, of course nonsense. If you found yourself nodding and agreeing eagerly, you and I both need to do a little soul searching. New shoes won't erase where we have walked anymore than an Etch-a-Sketch could erase our past. But there is a way to cover over all that old yuck we long to put forever behind us. Jesus promises that when we put our faith in Him, the old is washed away, and the new is ushered in. God no longer sees our sin when He looks upon us. We are covered by the atoning sacrifice of the One who bore the penalty of our sin for us, and cleansed, purified, and made new. We are new creatures, finally both beautiful and comfortable.

Hebrews 8: 9-12
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."




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