God Has Washed It Away

As Payton helped his mom clean the living room wall, he couldn't stop thinking about the day before. "I'm really sorry for what I did, Mom." "Payton," Mom said. "It's over. You're sorry. You've asked for God's forgiveness. Once God has taken care of it, it's gone."Payton frowned as he scrubbed at the wall. His little sister shouldn't have used it as her canvas. "I shouldn't have stolen that gum. I feel so gross. I never stole before. I never even thought of stealing. But…it was so easy.""You're going to get tempted to do a lot of things like that." Mom smiled sadly. "And you're going to give in a lot. The important thing is that you never turn from God because of your guilt.""Wouldn't He rather I do that?"Mom shook her head. "No. Jesus loves you so much that He wants to wash you clean." She dropped her rag into the soapy bucket. "I think we're going to need something different to clean this wall. Let's take a break and go to the store."A little while later, Mom started scrubbing again with the special sponge she had bought. "Wow! These really do work." She stepped back from the wall. "Can you even see where your sister's drawings were?"Payton shook his head. It was like magic."That's how Jesus wants to clean you--how He did clean you when you asked for His forgiveness," Mom said. "Now, He wants you to move on. We're not going to keep looking at this wall and thinking about what was there. We're going to see it as new and clean.""Why would God forgive me?" Payton wasn't ready to let go of what he was feeling."Because He loves you. Because Jesus died for your sins so you could be clean." Mom let out a soft laugh. "I'm not going to compare my love of a clean home to His love for you, but I cleaned this wall because I like my home and I like how it looks when it's clean. God loves you, Payton. He cares about you more than anyone ever could. He has forgiven you for your sin, and He wants you to let go of your guilt and shame."Payton looked at the clean wall. Then he turned to his mom and smiled.-Emily Acker