Tarnished Silver

   We received a pair of silver candle holders for a wedding gift more than fifty years ago. I really liked them and had them on the coffee table for a long time. But, as it goes with silver, they became tarnished and no longer were attractive. I tried to clean them but the silver cleaner I had did not do the job so I put them away. I thought about them once in awhile but didn't remember where I had put them.

   In my fall cleaning this month I found the poor neglected pair of candle holders. Ignoring them had not solved the tarnish problem; they were more black than ever. This time I used a different cleaner and the tarnish disappeared like magic. With their shine restored, they resumed a place of honor on the coffee table. 

   The restoration of the tarnished silver is an illustration of what happens when the proper cleaning solution is applied to the soul. We are pure and innocent at birth. As we grow, human nature begins to appear and the tarnishing begins. The longer the problem is ignored, the worse it becomes. 

   We may resolve to reform and change our wrong behavior, but that does not solve the problem. Not until the blood of Jesus is applied will the tarnish of sin be removed and the heart and mind transformed. With the shine restored, we are useful and a glory to God.

   Knowing the nature of silver, the candle holders will need polishing regularly to maintain their shine. In the same way, human nature keeps cropping up after our initial cleansing. We need a spiritual maintenance program to maintain our shine. The polish is daily Bible reading and prayer. We need the Word of God in us to purify and cleanse the way we think, which in turn affects our actions and prevents tarnish.

   "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:25b-26.