DIY Devotion - Fighting Sin and Plaque

All you will need for this DIY devotion is a tube of toothpaste.  A travel size would be better, so you don’t waste a whole tube of toothpaste, but either will work.

Have you child squeeze the toothpaste into a bowl or plate (you can have fun with it and time them and say, "Let's see how long it take you to get the toothpaste out," or something like that).  Once they get done, say, “Okay, now put it all back.” Obviously, they are going to be unable to do it.  They might be able to get a little back in, but they will not be able to get all of it back into the tube.

So, believe it or not, that toothpaste is like our sin.  We cannot get rid of our own sin.  Sin is anything we think, say or do that breaks God’s laws and makes God sad.  Once we sin, even a little one by accident, that sin is in our lives and there is nothing we can do to get rid of it.  We sometimes think if we just do enough good, it will get rid of the sin in our lives, but that is not true.

In Isaiah 64:6, it says, “all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags” to God.  What this means is that the best thing that you have ever done on your best day is like a towel that you have used to clean up a dirty truck stop bathroom.  God is perfect, holy and righteous, so we can’t do enough good to be seen as good in the eyes of the one who has never sinned. 

It is just like putting the toothpaste back into the tube.  You might get a little, but you won’t get it all back in and it will never look the same, no matter how hard you try. 

Now, that may make you feel frustrated, but there is good news.  God loves you so much that he sent Jesus Christ to die for you and because Jesus was the perfect Son of God he was able to take the punishment for all the sins you have ever done or will ever do on himself on the cross.  He crucified your sins and, if you believe on him, gave you his rightness or righteousness.  So, when the Father sees you, he doesn’t see sin, but the perfection of Christ.

Just like trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube, you can’t do it.  We can’t do enough good to get rid of our own sin, but we can believe on Jesus Christ and he will take our sin from us as far as “the east is from the west.”