What's With The Stain?

What’s With The Stain?
Written by Pastor Carmela E. Head
The Renewal Center

“What is with this stain? I can’t seem to get it out!”  Sounds familiar doesn’t it?  I can remember countless times when I have purchased a garment only to find an ingrained stain that is far beyond removing.  Have you experienced this?  I am very sure we all have encountered such frustration where we have had to either hide the stain or just leave the garment in the drawer or in the closet.  In a most comedic way, I wonder why it is the most costly pair of pants, coat, jacket or blouse that seemingly gets the boot back into the dark corridors of the closet never to be worn again. Is it another investment gone down the drain?

Everywhere we look there are strategies, tips and even solutions on how to remove stains from hard surfaces or fabrics. But, what about the stains that, no matter how hard we try, just cannot be removed?  “What is it with this stain anyway?” Often times, we wonder and we ask ourselves, “How in the world did this stain get here?”  Chances are, if we take a moment of reflection, we can trace back to that savory entre’ or just a rushing moment of drinking that favorite beverage; never-the-less, the irremovable evidence is showing up on that garment.

Tackling a permanent stain is definitely a piece of work AND could appear to be non-resolute. But, wait for just a moment. Let’s see this analogy through a spiritual lens.  If we look deeper we may see a more simplistic meaning that we can apply to our lives.  What good could possibly come from a stain anyway? “What could we take-away from a stain?”  I’m glad you asked.

Although we may have tried to remove that stain with due diligence, we can rest assured that the reason the stain is there permanently, is because the elements in the substance was rich, potent and greater in saturation of the make-up of the fabric itself.  It’s not the permanent stain that is the focus, it’s the substance of what created the stain that remained. There is much that we glean from this.


You see, we should desire to have a permanent spiritual imprint within us to the point that we can’t deny the power of it.  In order for stain to “stick” it must be fortified and become engrafted within that fabric!

God’s word is rich, potent and greater than any solution or ideology. His word is the final authority in which we can allow to penetrate our hearts until the only thing we see is His word within every fiber of our being. Psalms 119: 142 (NKJV) says. “Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth.”
 
As we take the time to apply scripture into our lives it becomes the stain that cannot be erased and cannot be removed.  It becomes the evidence of the presence of God. Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord is there.  Emmanuel: God with us.

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.  1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. . .  Colossians 3:16a NKJV
As we study and apply God’s word, it becomes a part of us.  It seeps, flows and ultimately becomes inherent in our daily lives.  Our desire should be to seek the permanent, rich, potent and greater work of Christ in and through us.

So, there is value in the stain.  The value is in the evidence that remains.






_{Copyright 2022 Carmela E. Head}