Under Cover

We took advantage of the recent Christmas break to do some redecorating in the staff rooms at Glyndley Manor. The room we were painting had been a bluey-grey with cream paintwork for some years and needed brightening up. The new colours were to be white paintwork with a British favourite – magnolia walls. The problem was getting the new emulsion to cover the old dark walls. The original just kept showing through.

This reminded me of the effect of sin in our lives. You can put a layer of ‘good behaviour’ over the top, but if our lives remain with unresolved issues then those will always show through. Anything ‘I’ do to deal with my sin is actually ineffective and is only an attempt at cover up. However the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ deals with the very issues themselves, so there is nothing remaining to disfigure us.

Even when we have been believers for many years we can find areas of our lives where we have tried to cover up wrong rather than confess it before God. Maybe we think we have been successful in the cover up, but people who know us well will have been able to see evidence of the old remaining, and of course the Lord knows the truth. Psalm 32:5 tells us that confession of sin, the opposite of covering up, opens the way for God to forgive and cleanse us.

It’s hard work getting down to the base and removing old paintwork, but for God it’s part of his everyday work among human beings to deal with our sinfulness. The simple process of confession, repentance and faith in Jesus allows the Holy Spirit to transform us truly into His new creation, with no cover-ups. What a difference between a godly makeover and a quick ‘paint job’ to cover up the blemishes!

Prayer: I know, Lord, that there is nothing I can hide from you, so if I try to cover anything up I am only deceiving myself. Help me, Lord, to always be honest with you and not allow my past to damage my future. In Jesus’ name, Amen.