Fall Residue

On my morning walk, the trees are beginning to change color.
They have not reached the level of spectacular yet.
They appear to be blushing.
Red and orange just beginning to burst forth.

I can see the progress of the change in the leaves each morning.
I am enthralled.
I am witnessing the palette of the Master Artist.
His Perfect brush strokes give us pleasure and give Him glory.

There is a walnut tree in the front of our house.
It is the tree on which my husband hung a rope swing for our youngest daughter.
Even though we had a swing set, she always dreamed of having a rope swing.
It is still there all these years later and enjoyed by the many children that visit here.

Some people would cut this tree down simply to use the wood.
They would cut it down and use the rich walnut beauty for furniture.
It is our rope swing tree.
God willing, it will remain standing there as a sort of sentry for many years.

However, this time of year the walnut tree is my least favorite tree.
The walnuts fall from the tree at a rapid rate.
A soft green shell, which is the size of a lacrosse ball, encloses the hard walnut inside.
You can hear the walnuts falling from the tree all through the day and night.

They litter the driveway; they pop and crunch as you drive over them with the car.
When the walnuts fall, long, bendable sticks fall with them.
The squirrels love to collect the walnuts and store them for the winter.
The squirrels leave a mess as well.

The squirrels only want the nut inside, so they are preoccupied with opening the soft shell.
They will use any hard surface to open the shell so that it will reveal the walnut.
The squirrels will use the roof, the deck, the porch, the rockers, and the front step.
Now the debris consists of  the outer shell, the soft sticks, and the discarded walnut pieces.

All of that debris lays on the front lawn and driveway.
It needs to be gathered and tossed into the woods.
I just hired a boy from our church, who is trying to earn money, to tackle this job for us.
It used to be a job my sons would do; they actually seemed to like it.

They loved putting on their work gloves and throwing the walnuts into the woods.
It became a competition, a challenge to see who could throw the farthest.
It became a contest, to see who could fill their bucket the fastest.
Forgetting to wear work gloves or old shoes was a grave mistake.

The rich walnut color that everyone loves for their furniture gets on everything it touches.
The walkway, the driveway, the deck, and the roof are peppered with walnut stains.
The fall rains will eventually wash most of the stain away.
In the meantime, everything is left with a brown walnut residue.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge. Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51: 1-7)

Our sin is like the walnut stain that I see outside this fall.
The beautiful walnut tree litters the lawn with walnuts.
Upon closer inspection and touch, the walnut leaves its residue everywhere.
Insidious brown stain remains wherever the walnut touches.

Our sin is that insidious.
Sin may appear innocent enough; sin may have its own appeal.
But upon further inspection and touch, sin leaves its residue everywhere.
Nothing washes away the insidious stain of sin except the blood of Jesus.

We may try to cover up our sin, but the residue will always remain.
Everywhere we walk, we leave a bit of that residue behind.
We may try to discard the debris of our sins, but more keeps falling down all around us.
Always falling down; a seemingly endless supply of sin despite our best efforts.

That’s the way it is in this fallen world.
Sin is insidious and sin stains.
The residue of sin permeates everything.
The stain of sin is left on everything it touches.

But there is a Way.
We will still sin this side of heaven.
But we can be made clean by the blood of Jesus.
His precious blood is like the fall rain that washes the walnut stain away.

There is one huge difference.
Unlike the fall rain, Jesus’ blood completely washes away the stain of our sin.
There is no residue.
Nothing remains but forgiveness and mercy.

We will be washed.
We will be whiter than snow.
Come to Jesus and be made clean.