That's grace. That's love. That's Jesus.

I was replacing the a/c compressor on my jeep last week. Now I am known to make a mess at things like that and this was no exception. I somehow managed to spill Freon and compressor oil all over my hands. And not just a little bit! I was dripping with it! Desperate, I looked around for a towel or rag or paper towels, anything to wipe it off and there was nothing. The oil dripping off my arms stained my clothes and the floor – really everything around me was impacted by my mess. Standing in my garage, I turned around and spied the kitchen door. I knew that on the other side of that garage door was the answer to my problem – complete with warm water, soap and towels. But I was stuck. Grabbing the kitchen door knob, I tried to turn it – urghhhh - no success. My hands were so grimy and oily that I could not open anything at all. There was no way for me to get clean without some outside help.

Our souls are kind of like that… because of sin, our souls are so grimy and oily that there is no way for us to get clean without Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God isn’t waiting for us to get clean before we come to him. Just the opposite… Christ comes to us while we are still messed up and, by his death, makes us clean. And all because of his love for you and me! That’s grace. That’s love. That’s Jesus.