There is a thin layer of powder that lightly clings to every surface this time of year. It accumulates nearly imperceptivity. By the time you see it, pollen has already infiltrated every pore and crept into every orifice, filling your mouth with dusty residue and your lungs with grainy film. As quickly as you sweep it away, it reappears, drifting down on the breeze from tall pines, filling the air with a light yellowish haze, coating everything again. The only thing that can effectively remove it is a long downpour to wash it from the sky.
It reminds me of sin. Like pollen floating through the air, waiting to fall, sin is waiting for us. God pictures sin in Genesis 4:7 as crouching, waiting for the right time. Sin also creeps into our lives, silent and insidious, clinging unnoticed, but growing according to James 1:15. In small amounts it is hard to see and as it grows it blocks out more and more of the light. 1 Peter 5:8 says our enemy wants to swallow us up. He wants us lost and blind in darkness and covered with filth. Sin does more than just cause some breathing problems – it separates us from God and takes our life.
God’s remedy for sin is not too different from his remedy for pollen. He wants to wash it away with the blood of Jesus. This happens first at baptism when we are buried with him into death (Romans 6:1-5). Sin is removed from us and continues to be removed from us by His blood as we walk in the light and confess our sins (1 John 1:7). When God becomes hazy in our eyes and our breath is short, it may indicate sin is building up. Allow God to wash you clean once more.