One Saturday evening Richard and Jane had just finished eating dinner in the living room when they heard the door bell ring.  They looked in horror at the pile of dirty dishes sitting on the coffee table.  Jane’s head cracked into Richard’s as they simultaneously grabbed the dinner dishes and shoved them  into the storage space of the coffee table where they kept the table games.  Richard answered the door and invited their unexpected guests  into a clean house.  One week  later, on a Saturday evening, the doorbell  unexpectedly rang again.  Richard once again opened the door and invited their unexpected guests inside.  After coffee and conversation Richard and Jane invited their friends to play a table game.  Jane opened the doors of the coffee table and reached inside to choose a game.  Jane paused momentarily and blushed in embarrassment.  She glanced at their friends and hoped she could pull a game out without disturbing the dishes.  Jane heard someone say, “Let’s play the game ‘Sorry ‘, it’s my favorite.”  “How appropriate”,  mumbled Jane as she tried to pull the ‘Sorry’ game out from under the pile of dirty dishes.  The fork rattled in the cup that was perched on the plate sitting on top of the kettle.  She held her breath….there she had it.  Jane held up the game, smiled a huge grin of relief and began to close the door.  Unfortunately at that moment the cup slipped causing all of last weeks  dirty dinner dishes to crash at Jane’s feet.

The hidden dishes had been forgotten and grown crustier and more disgusting as the days passed by.  Now isn’t that  how sin is when we try to hide it instead of cleaning it up?  The best part is that we don’t have to clean it up all by ourselves.  God wants to come on over and help us wash those dirty dishes.  It’s like a free maid service!  And who doesn’t want to take advantage of that?

God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. 1 John 1:9 God’s Word Translation

People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.  Proverbs 28:13 NLT

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:2 NIV