God Stains

I get a lot of thinking done while I mow the lawn, and because I mow multiple lawns, I have lots of time to think.  As I was mowing, I was watching my shoes and the hem of my jeans turn green – an unfortunate side effect of mowing when the grass is still wet.  I starting thinking about how much I hate grass stains and how much I hate trying to get them out, especially on things that can’t go in the washing machine, like my shoes!  To top it off I knew I wasn’t going to be able to change before I went out for my birthday dinner that night, so I was going to have jeans with green-grass hems for the rest of the day!  I continued to stew on the new green shades my pants and shoes had acquired and thought about how people would see them and know what I had been doing.

Then it occurred to me - what if, like grass stains, there were God stains?  What if there was something that would stain or mark me and what I do, that would let people know that I had been in the presence of God?  In Exodus 34 we hear about how Moses’ face was so radiant and bright from being in the presence of God that he had to wear a veil.  Do people see evidence of God when they see me?  Are my ‘God stains’ as evident as my grass stains?  Clearly my face is not shinning so brightly that I have to wear a veil, but the idea is still the same.  Do I spend enough time in God’s presence that people can see the evidence in me? 

I want God stains, and lots of them!  I want people to be able to see God at work in my life and have those stains point clearly to Him.  Do I show people the love of Christ in my actions?  Am I the hands of feet of Christ to those around me?  Not nearly as much as I should be, and admittedly, sometimes not at all.

God, please stain me.  Mark me with your grace, peace, and presence in such a way that others are drawn to you through me.  Help me to be a sign that points people to You in such a way that they want to follow You, instead of running the other way.  Convict me when I point people to things that are not of You, or when Your stains in my life are so faded that they are no longer visible.  Remind me to spend quality time with You and Your word so that my life may show the deep, lasting, and vibrant stains that only You can give.  Amen.

God bless, Liz Arakelian, www.LivingHopeEC.org