Most of us instantly notice spots and stains. We don't like them, so we try to get rid of them or hide them. Some of them refuse to be hidden. I recently was dining at a restaurant and decided to have cheesecake for desert--NY Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust, Hazelnuts and Chocolate Glace. A few minutes into the experience, I noticed a chocolate spot on the white cloth napkin on my lap. I quickly refolded the napkin to hide the spot. A few minutes later another spot appeared. This one defied my first instinct which was to again refold the napkin. I decided to leave it as is. I knew there must be a reason that this white napkin needed an oval-shaped brown chocolate spot.
The spot represented the dilemma in which we find ourselves when, after we have been cleansed in the waters of baptism, we continue to sin or to engage in actions that violate spiritual law, as well as God's commands. The Lord sees the sin as a brown stain on a soul that is otherwise cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Hopefully, the stain is accidental only. Many sins and violations of spiritual law occur along a continuum, any point at which one can stop or make an opposite or different decision. This is contrasted with the sins committed by accident, such as when someone forgets certain facts and says something that is untrue. While anyone can come to the Lord to be cleansed of any and every past sin, for sealed disciples of Jesus who have the Holy Spirit and have pledged to live righteously, the blood of Jesus covers only accidental sins. Ongoing sins committed through deliberate or pre-meditated action will have dire spiritual consequences (Hebrews 10:26-31).
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