LAUNDERING
EACH SIN

Topics: Apology; Confession; Forgiveness; Meditation; Pardon; Quiet Time; Reconciliation; Sin

References: Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13; Acts 3:19; Hebrews 10:22; James 5:16; 1 John 1:9

When I left for college, my mother—who had always done my laundry—made a canvas duffel bag for me. “Put your dirty clothes in this every night,” she said. “At the end of the week, wash them at the Laundromat.”

Seven days later, I took my dirty clothes to the Laundromat. To save time, I threw the duffel bag in the washer, put in some laundry powder, inserted the proper change, and turned on the machine. Moments later, a loud thump, thump, thump, thump echoed through the Laundromat. A pretty coed approached me with a grin. “I watched you load your washer. I think the clothes would get cleaner if you took them out of the bag.”

One day, when my relationship with God was hurting, I remembered my laundry episode. I realized the way I confessed sins—“Dear God, please forgive me for all the sins I’ve committed today”—was about as effective as my first attempt at washing clothes. Each sin needs individual attention.

—Roger Barrier, Listening to the Voice of God (Bethany, 1998)