Resolve to be Renewed

While fulfilling one of my new year’s resolutions to clean out all my cupboards, I came across a tray of silverware shoved to the back of an unhandy cupboard. Nestled among a few stale pretzels that escaped their bag was an assortment of silver-plated forks, spoons, and knives I’d long forgotten.

I recognized the pattern. The tableware came from my mother’s estate. Though I didn’t know how I’d come by them, their tarnished condition said they’d been neglected awhile. I wondered what I should do with the set. I didn’t want it. But in its present state, no one else would either.

I dug out my silver cleaner to see what polish might do. As black as these pieces were, I doubted I’d make a difference. I lavished the cleaner on a spoon and rubbed. To my surprise, a silver handle emerged from beneath the layer of grime. I worked for several minutes on the pattern, letting each little flower have a good dose of goop. Soon the pattern gleamed back at me. I polished a few pieces each day, allowing my fingers time to rest between rubbings. As the week progressed, the silver-plate shone, one piece at a time.

Venturing into that darkened cupboard, I thought of how God sent his son Jesus to a dying world corrupted by evil. He knew we each needed to have our layer of sin lifted from our blackened hearts. All of us, the scriptures teach, have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Just like the silver cleaner, Jesus’s shed blood covered that sin, washing away the tarnish on our souls. The good news is we only have to believe and accept the gift of his sacrifice on our lives. Eternal life awaits us. Acts 16:31 says: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

This is a New Year. Like the spoon, our lives can shine for Him. Accept the gift Jesus offers you and let him polish you. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17)

Think of the shine your heart will have when Jesus makes it new.