The Stain

There is a large water and soap scum stain on the floor of my shower. I have scrubbed it as hard as I am able and it never goes away. For years, I have tried to keep the more acute issues of mold and mildew at bay, but the stain has slowly grown. Then I developed Dupuytrens Disease in my hands, and scrubbing hard is painful. However, there comes a point when the disgust of what you know should not be overcomes all else, and you fall on your knees and decide no matter what, that stain is coming out.

I scrubbed and scrubbed, despite the contractures in my hand, the pain, and my joints aching. I scrubbed till I simply could not scrub any more. The stain was smaller, but it was still quite large.
The next day, I dropped to the floor again and scrubbed and scrubbed. I scrubbed till the cleanser's toxic fumes threatened to asphyxiate me. I scrubbed until once again, I simply could not scrub any more. Again the stain had receded some, but much remained.

I will do this every day, till I can stand it no more, till the pain overwhelms me. And then I will rest. And I will tackle it again when my strength is renewed because the stain must come out.

Charles Spurgeon spoke of the stain of sin as filtering through every part of one's being unless eradicated. To ignore its presence is to allow it to grow.
As the salt flavors every drop in the Atlantic, so does sin affect every atom of our nature. It is so sadly there, so abundantly there, that if you cannot detect it, you are deceived.
If you will not have death unto sin, you shall have sin unto death. There is no alternative. If you do not die to sin, you shall die for sin. If you do not slay sin, sin will slay you.
 
We cannot eradicate sin on our own. It is why Jesus had to die on the cross to deal once and for all with the problem of sin. This does not mean that we should not daily scrub with all our might to keep it at bay, and while we are on our knees scrubbing, we should also be praying and praising the mercy and grace of Jesus who paid such a high price for our freedom.

Jeremiah 2: 5-6, 13, 22

5This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,

that they strayed so far from me?

They followed worthless idols

and became worthless themselves.

6They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,

13“My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water

22Although you wash yourself with soap

and use an abundance of cleansing powder,

the stain of your guilt is still before me,”

Psalm 51:2 

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!