Romans 5:20-21 “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
If you live in Georgia, chances are you are familiar with the infamous “yellow pollen” of springtime. Our tall, statuesque pines produce this pollen in their cones, and when the wind blows, away go billions of tiny yellow pollen grains into the air. While the goal is for the pollen to land upon female cones, it also lands everywhere else! I find that my once-blue car becomes yellow, a clear patio table seems to have a yellow tablecloth upon it, and my white wrap-around porch now seems to be made of yellow lumber. (I shudder to think what the inside of my lungs look like!) As my granddaughter and I did a little yard work, we noticed that even the air had a yellowish hue that seemed to thicken when a gentle breeze blew. It wouldn’t matter if I washed everything down because I knew that the next day would bring a new dusting of pollen on everything once more. There is no escaping it!
Springtime pollen is a lot like sin. It’s everywhere! No matter how hard you try to avoid it, it’s always there! Sometimes it’s like a faint dusting, but it’s there. Sometimes it’s so thick, you not only feel its presence, but you see it clearly! Romans 5:12 states “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” So no matter where you go, sin will be there. The Bible also tells us that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), and the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23a) or eternal separation from God. When I tried to wash away the pollen, it returned. No matter what I did, the pollen still permeated everything, including me! That’s a lot like sin. I can’t make my sin go away. I can try to hide it, but it’s still there, and eventually, it will be made manifest. Read more