Casandra Martin

Our lives are filled with so many simple blessings. So many things that I take for granted, walk past, and overlook every day. Today I am thankful for soap. How much soap do you have in your house? I have soap in five different rooms in my house. I refill the bottles, open up new bars, and pour it into the washing machine. Such a simple blessing and one that I take for granted too often. Soap is magical. It is wonderful. It makes bubbles. It glistens in the light. It smells good. It comes in different colors and there are bottles to fit everyone’s fancy. Soap makes us clean. This is the real beauty of soap. How many times a day do you stop and wash your hands? We don’t often think about the soap that we use multiple times a day to wash the messes off our hands. It is only when there is no soap that we stop and notice. Without soap, our lives would be sticky, oily, grimy, and stinky. I am thankful for soap.

There is a cleansing agent in my life more powerful than soap. The blood of Jesus takes the deepest, darkest stains of sin and washes them away until I am whiter than snow. His blood removes my sticky selfishness, the oily presence of pride, the grimy gunk of guilt, and the stinky stench of shame. Because of the everlasting love of God, this “soap” runs freely though my life. God is never stingy with his grace. His mercies are new every morning. His forgiveness is better than those scrubbing bubbles you see in the commercials. It reaches deep, providing peace, renewal, freedom, and joy.

My Jesus Resolution today is to spend today being amazed by grace. I am going to let soap be my reminder of God’s presence and mercy. Every time I wash my hands, put clothes in the washing machine, load the dishwasher, and rinse the dishes, I am going to let my mind dwell on the power of God’s forgiveness. I am going to notice the bubbles and stand in awe of the beauty of grace. I will look at the bar code on the bottle and be humbled by the cost that was paid to make me clean.