Ketchup on my clothes

Have you ever had a stain of ketchup on your shirt?  I have!  And boy it is really hard to get out.  We were  eating on the patio of Sonic today (fine dining) and to eat my onion rings I needed to empty about six of those ketchup packets on a napkin and then I would have enough to eat my rings with and feel complete...  So, I empty out the packet on the napkin, not realizing there was a breeze blowing.  The breeze can't lift the napkin when the ketchup pile is heavy, but the more I ate of the ketchup, the more the breeze affected my napkin.  Of course, you know what happened a little later.  Ketchup is almost gone and the napkin, without much ketchup weight gets turned over by the breeze.  Now my ketchup is where it shouldn't be...under the napkin.  Bummer!!

If I just left the pile of ketchup on the napkin, with all it's weight to hold it down, I wouldn't have had a problem.   Then the problem would be getting the taste of the ketchup on my onion rings.  Oh how they need that ketchup.  Use the ketchup, get the flavor.  Don't use the ketchup, don't get the flavor but  you keep the stain off your clothes.  One time the same thing happened and it landed on my shirt and put a stain on it that looked terrible.  Ketchup on my clothes.  In Isaiah 61:10 the prophet said, "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,  as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."  How are we "adorned" as disciples?  With the blood of Jesus!!  It is because of His blood that we have the righteousness we now live in and the stain of that blood is a real reminder for each of us.  That stain...  The clothes we wear as believers are clothes that represent who Christ is to us and identifies us with Jesus at every turn of our life.  When I say clothes, I mean the righteousness that we now have because of His blood.    Of course, much more than ketchup, real blood.  That blood was shed for you and for me and it is "who we are"  as we go about our everyday life of service.  Some who claim the name of Jesus don't want to have that blood stain seen in their lives, but it is still there if they actually know him.  Sometimes you may want to be a convenient Christian, but not one who totally identifies yourself with our Savior.  First of all, shame on you.  Secondly, you cannot escape what that blood stain means.  Even if you wanted to.   The blood stain of Jesus' blood was not meant to be hidden, or even cleaned off.  It is the flavor of our life.   The flavor that blood adds to our life is a flavor that gives us a righteousness that impacts people in a very confrontational way at times.  It is almost intimidating and very convicting for those who profess Christ and those who don't

Today make an effort to put away anything that may be an attempt to keep His righteousness from shining through and "embrace the stain."  Let the stain be a reminder, a stimulus, a heart's cry, an identity, and let the breeze of the Holy Spirit blow through your life so you can live in the freedom only found in Christ.  Here is what the Apostle Paul said about Christ' love for the church in Ephesians  5: 26  "and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."  Because of the blood of Jesus we can be presented in that way without stain or blemish, but whole and complete.  Praise the name of Jesus for His great love and sacrifice for you and for me.  

The pilgrimage continues....

David Warren