God's Love is Like...

Wood Stain

Why? Well, I just used a bunch of it, and it occurred to me while I was staining that it has something in common with God's love. (Perhaps it was the fumes talking. The warning labels on those cans are pretty scary.)

See, wood stain changes the wood it's painted upon. It soaks into the grain and you no longer see the plain wood, but rather the wood as it has been changed by the stain. It's a new color, despite being the same piece of wood.

Christ does the same for us. Christ's love for us is so deep that, even in our sinful state, he came to earth and died for us. When we give our lives to Christ, he soaks into us, changing us, so that when God looks at us he sees not us, but Christ. Our sin is gone, broken by the power of Christ, and we are born anew through the blood of Christ. We can marvel at this miracle for every moment of our lives, and I believe we will still fail to understand the grace of it. We simply have to accept it--we are changed through Christ. We are no longer sinful, but rather covered in the grace of God, forever beautiful in God's eyes because of what was done on the cross. Sin has lost its sting, death has no victory--we are one in Christ, forever. Amen!