"You're contaminated."That's what my therapist told me as I was processing my constant struggle with sexual sin and singleness. The words hit my heart & at first I found them to be really, REALLY harsh.
Just 2 days before I had been speaking to someone else about being slow to anger and so with that in mind I held the following words in my mouth while I thought about her statement. "Hey, you're not supposed to say things like that. You're supposed to be accepting me without judgment, you're supposed to be supporting me & encouraging me. Telling me I'm contaminated is NOT helpful. That words makes me feel like crap. I AM NOT CONTAMINATED."
Pride was about to take over and I was incredibly close to letting those words spew out of my mouth in anger, but these words came out instead: "You're right."
These were not my words. I did not think them and I sure as heck didn't say them. God did.
I am contaminated. Contaminated by sin.
con·tam·i·nateAs I look at my life and look at the areas of constant struggle, I see this truth. I see how even the "smallest" of sins has seeped into other areas, contaminating my whole self. I see how one un-pure thought can cause an avalanche of un-pure actions. I see how one "harmless" snap judgment or snide comment can wound multiple people.
1. to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc.
2. to render harmful or unusable by adding radioactive material to
3. something that contaminates or carries contamination
4. Obsolete
Synonyms
1. defile, pollute, taint, infect, poison, corrupt.
It only takes a small amount of crude oil to contaminate a multitude of God's creatures, and the same is true for sin. It only takes a small amount of doubt to give the Devil a foothold. It only takes a moment of letting our guard down to reveal a weak spot giving him the opportunity to strike.
We are most undoubtedly human and therefore we are ever-susceptible to contamination. As Believers we understand the dangers of sin, we know that it's something we should be guarding ourselves against and yet we often willingly "dive in." The reasons vary, but the foundation is the same: We are broken. The Fall opened us up to a world of sin that God never intended us to experience. Sin has caused devastation to the beautiful creation of God.
Sin has devastated me, devastated you.
And the truth is, there's nothing we can do to stop it. We are powerless against it, physically, mentally, & spiritually. Sure, we can try & try & try until the end of days, but we'll be trying in vain.
But here's the beauty in it all... even though God did not intend for us to ever experience the contamination of sin, His love for us is so deep & so wide that He has provided us a way to get clean... The pure, innocent blood of His son, Jesus Christ. That is the only antidote, the only cure to our contamination. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
And because He's God, there's even more beauty to be found... Every day and every moment in it is a chance to experience His mercies, because they are new each morning. He is the God of second chances and because He forgets all transgressions as they are covered by Christ's blood, second chances are abundantly available to each of us. ALWAYS.
Each day is an empty canvas just waiting to be filled with God's beauty and grace. Yes, the world & Satan tell us we are contaminated. That is not a lie. And that contamination, that devastation, should grieve us, but what the world & Satan forget is that Jesus saves us from it all. We have been bought with a price. A costly, costly gift from our Heavenly Father to disinfect us from our sin.
Let that sink in today.
As you do, think upon the mercies He has brought you this morning and every morning. See the empty canvas, the clean slate that He has provided for you and prayerfully consider what you will fill that canvas with today. It is my prayer that whatever it is, it honors Him and glorifies Him. For He deserves nothing less.
