Tarnished

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

      I borrowed my mother’s silver tea set when I was considering being a hostess at my church’s Tea last spring. I decided to use something else instead, so I put the tea set up in the top of a closet and forgot about it. When I took it out a few days ago, it was not the shiny tea set I put away. It was dark and ugly. During the seven months it sat in the top of the closet, it tarnished to a dark blackish-grey color.

(the cream and sugar bowls)

      It was my job to clean this silver when I was a kid but it had been several years since I’d cleaned any silver. I found an old container of silver cleaner in the back of my china cabinet drawer, but when I opened the jar, it looked like an old dried out bar of soap, all cracked and hard.

      The sad looking tea set sat on the kitchen counter for several days waiting for me to buy some new cleaner and brighten it up. When I finally got around to it, and began to rub the pieces with the sponge and cleaner, I remembered why I liked that job as a kid. The transformation was so obvious - from dark and ugly to bright and sparkling. The tarnish just wiped away with a little cleaner and water.

      It reminded me of myself. How there were times in my life when I was covered with something worse than tarnish - sin. It happened when I neglected keeping myself free from bad choices, or neglected my walk with God for any length of time. Those times I let my heart feel dark and ugly, but as I turned back to Him, He brought His forgiveness (like the cleaner) and washed it all away. When He did, the transformation was obvious.

      After I cleaned the silver set, I wrapped it in plastic wrap to keep it from the air. It’s a simple thing to do, and it will prevent the ugly tarnish from coming back.

      It’s also pretty simple to keep myself free from being covered with the ugliness of sin. I can’t wrap myself in plastic, but I can keep myself covered with God’s Word and daily prayer. When I make a mistake He will quickly wipe it away with His forgiveness when I turn to Him and ask. He'll restore me to the bright and sparkling person He created me to be - free from sin and tarnish.