You gotta learn some things the hard way
I guess.. .
Part of my being a church member is learning to navigate the treacherous path of taking food to potluck fellowships!
This time we were having chili at church. Ummm Hummm. Spicy, meaty, full of beans, and tomato sauce chili.
Gary positioned the heavy pots carefully and made sure the lids were on. He put spread out garbage bags under them and things around them to keep the crock pots from sliding. I made it to church fine! No slippage. No spillage.
However, on the way home I had a near disaster which turned into a critical spill. Not on the road. In the back of the vehicle.
Rain was falling, a bit of fog rose, and day settled into dusk. I was driving slowly and carefully (for me) and keeping my eyes on a swivel from left to right and ahead watching for deer to pop up out of nowhere.
Sure enough, as I turned on HWY 5, there were a pair of beautiful deer on the right. I slowed even more and carefully passed them. No problem! Thank you Lord! Then I thought about Gary following me in the truck. I started to call him, but didn’t want to pull over, so I prayed he would see the deer and be safe.
Suddenly, out of left field, two deer flew across the road. I slammed on the brakes as gently as I could.
You know the rest of the story. Yep.
All the chili slid and ran all over the back of the back row seats, down into the spare tire space, and over the back of the tail gate. What a mess.
After cleaning and following everyone’s great ideas of what to do to get the pungent sticky meaty smell out, we still have a lingering aroma of chili and stain.
Sin is like that isn’t it. We try and try to clean it up ourselves. Shame, guilt, damaged relationships, stunted growth, and problems remain after our efforts.
God says sin is a smoke that smells terrible to Him in Isaiah 65:5 (“…stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.”)
Only God can forgive and remove the stain of sin from our lives when we confess our faith in Him, and by His grace and mercy, He forgives our foul smelling sin because of Jesus paying the price for all the sins of all of us.
When I get a whiff of old chili, I am reminded to confess, repent, and ask God to forgive me of the sins I commit.
Quit trying to do it on your own; you won’t succeed.
The deer, hang around for the rest of that story. . .
