Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18)
Picture a pencil with the attached eraser on the end. Perhaps the #2 pencil you had to bring to school for all of those standardized tests you had to take. Got it? Now picture this: you are the pencil, Jesus is the Eraser, and God is the hand that holds and writes.
Now a pencil can do nothing on its own. Someone must pick it up in their hand and begin to write with it and that is exactly what God has been doing in your life since the day you placed your trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. But even in the hand of God, at times, you will have a tendency to want to write some of your story yourself. When you do, mistakes will happen along the way. You will say some things you will wish you had not said. You will do some things you will wish you had not done. You will think some things you will wish you had not thought. And every time this happens, Jesus, your Eternal Eraser is right there to erase the mess as if it had never happened.
Here are a few things to remember as you go through the unfolding story of your life. The part of you that will leave your mark on this world for the glory of the One who holds you in His hand is on the inside of you. Every time God writes with you, more of who you truly are inside will come out. And, of course, from time to time, the hand that writes with you will need to sharpen you along the way with difficulties, obstacles, problems, and challenges. Oh, I know that will be painful, but you will be a much more useful pencil because of God’s sharpening.
One final point. Each time you are sharpened, something really neat happens. You will shrink a bit and become a little bit smaller. But that’s a good thing. Because as you decrease, those around you who are watching your story being written, will see more and more of the hand of God that is holding you and less and less of you. In other words, this is a picture of what John the Baptist said when he said, “I must decrease and He must increase” (John 3:30).
So, how is your life story going? Who is doing the writing, you or God? Remember, the more God writes, the better your story becomes. But in those moments when you do a little writing on your own and mess things up, Jesus, your Eternal Eraser will be right there with you erasing the mess as if it had never happened.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 