White Towel

We had a nice flight both to and from San Diego.  Although I did not really want to come back, I missed my son and anticipated the return.  It was an amazing flight.  I surprised my husband with first class seats on both flights and it was nice.

You immediately receive attention!  Even before everyone else boards, they are already taking your drink order.  Headed there it was orange juice, coffee, milk, water, soft drinks...you name it.  Then they took your breakfast order.   It was omlet, quiche, yogurt, and fruit.  It was awesome.  But before you got your meal, they came by with something else. 

The flight attendant came by with a hot white towel.  She handed it to you with tongs so that you could clean your hands.  It was so neat and the towel was so warm to our cold hands.  We wiped our hands and then she collected our towels.  The towels had cleaned our hands from the newspapers we had read, or the handles we had touched from our suit cases, or the boarding passes we had handled.  I believed our hands were clean but I still took the towel thinking,  "how nice that is to leave all your grime, and dirt on your white towel." 

You know, God offers us a "white towel" of sorts.  He promises to forgive and cleanse us from our sins if we call out to him.  I could have told the flight attendant that I did not need a white towel, my hands were clean but I would have missed out.  I would have missed out on feeling the warmth of the towel and the clean feeling it left. Better still, I would have fooled myself because although my hands felt clean, I had still touched various things that hundreds of other people had also touched just getting through security!

When I returned my towel, I felt comfortable that my hands were clean. When we confess our sins and God forgives us, we can know with certainty that he has cleansed us! Our "white towel."

If we claim to be without sin, we deceibe ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9