Stains on the Carpet

Back in December 1994, a buddy from the USAF proudly purchased a case of pears from a high school student trying to raise money for a class trip. He carefully brought the box home, and placed it in the corner of his room. Later in the evening, he tossed some clothes on top of the box, and then added the incoming Christmas presents. In two short days, he forgot all about the box of 48 pears.

Fast forward, it is now May 1995 and the pears have been sitting under a pile of clothes for 5 months. My buddy had been transfered to a new job at Cape Canaveral Air Station. While he started packing up his apartment, he noticed an unusual odor from the corner of his room. He moved the clothes and found...the box of pears. Much too his dismay, he learned that pears when rotting get rather juicy. The juice of the pears changed the light blue carpet into a swirling pattern of reddish brown, orange, and purple.

Nothing could remove the stain. Not Resolve, the Bissel spot lifter, even the professional carpet cleaner guy threw his hands in the air and said "It's a permanent stain, there is nothing a can do." So my buddy attempted to dye the carpet, no luck. The fibers wouldn't hold the new color.

Our daily sins are rotting pear juice. They stain our lives, and make us less than perfect. Yet unlike the carpet, there is something to remove our stain. The blood of Christ. In it we are washed clean and appear before God unblemished.