The humble kitchen rag. I’m sure we’ve all witnessed the slow transformation of a new dishcloth into a dirty kitchen rag. The rag is used to clean the dirtiest of countertops and inevitably ends up with a foul smell that you can’t seem to wash off. You can soak it and wash it as much as you want, but you just can’t remove the smell and stains. It is definitely not something you want to keep or see. What if I told you that all of our righteous acts and good works are like filthy rags? I would be pretty offended if someone said this to me. But that is what the prophet Isaiah says – “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags, we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah 64:6). However, perspective is key. When we try to make our works a criteria for being saved, we discredit the need for God’s grace. Isaiah continues – “Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (v8). Our salvation is not through our effort but given by God – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Open Bible – http://bit.ly/Isa64v6-8, https://bit.ly/joh3v16 (Jeremy G)
