Have you found yourself feeling scratched and scuffed up much like a house waiting for new flooring or painting. First, you have to deal with the old and scuffed up areas of your life. Even renewal can bring scuffs.
We encountered scuffs a few years ago as we renovated our home. In certain areas, we had small accents of marble installed. We should have expected damage. Many workers carried equipment in and out of the house. Maybe the painters didn’t notice the strip of marble or the scratch that resulted.
Plumber, painter, glass vendor, electrician, and tile layer – a symphony of workers. They’ve all traipsed through our days of renovations. Renovations of our homes resemble reconstruction or repair in our lives.
Life is like that marble. One day, it’s beautiful and perfect. The next day, there’s a deep and long scratch.
Have you been there?
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,“ (Romans 3:23, NKJV).
Beauty Marred
Just like the beautiful and polished marble, God made man and woman perfect – beautiful. Sin gashed perfection. Beauty soiled.
I’ve recognized the gashes in my life and have wondered how to restore those wounds back to perfection without any scars. You know what? We can’t do it alone.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His [God’s] grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24 ESV)
I gathered very gentle sandpaper and other materials. The man who laid the tile offered to work with me on the scratched marble.
Scratched by our sin, but justified by God’s grace through Jesus.
Beauty Restored
Sin mars our beauty and our relationship with God.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:4-6 ESV).
We can work on sanding and polishing our scratches and scuffs, but we need help.
We need the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in those who call Jesus their Lord and Savior.
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1John 1:7 ESV]
Jesus’ blood cleanses us from the sins that scratched and scuffed our lives. But the consequences of our sins may remain. We need the Holy Spirit to sand out the rough edges of the damage.
As the Holy Spirit sands the rough edges, we scrunch our faces and maybe cry out when He sands the area. He sands all around the scratch as well as the scratch and scuff. After the discomfort, the Holy Spirit washes the area and pours the soothing polish on the marred area. He lovingly rubs the polish in. Even if a mark remains, it reminds us of our sin. The mark becomes a memorial of how the Holy Spirit worked to bring beauty from the scratches and scuffs.
The scratch remains in the marble, just as scratches mark my life. But the Holy Spirit has sanded, polished and buffed the rough edges.
Unfortunately, I’m a sinner and a work in progress. I’ll stumble and scratch up my life again. I’m confident that when those scratches appear, the Holy Spirit will work on them.
Father, thank You for cleansing us from our scratches, scuffs, and rough edges.You have blessed us with constant renewal by the Holy Spirit poured out on us through Your Son Jesus. What love You have given us! Thank You. Amen
How is God beautifying your scratches and scuffs?
Please Share Your Ideas