Sin - Forsake

One day a young minister was being escorted through a coal mine. At the entrance of one of the dim passageways, he spied a beautiful white flower growing out of the black earth. "How can it blossom in such purity and radiance in this dirty mine?" the preacher asked. "Throw some coal dust on it and see for yourself," his guide replied. When he did, he was surprised that the fine, black particles slide right off the snowy petals, leaving the plant just as lovely and unstained as before. Its surface was so smooth that the grit and grime could not adhere to it. In commenting on this incident, an unknown author said, "Our hearts should have the same characteristic. Just as that flower could not control its habitat, so we cannot avoid living in a world filed with evil. But God's grace can keep us so clean and unspotted that though sin touches us on every side, it will not cling to us."

-Sermons Illustrated November/December 1988