“There’s another one.” He smiled as he bent down and picked it up. The pieces of black coal stood out against the other gray stones along the railway tracks. The coal car had dropped the coal as it shook and swayed behind the engine. He thought, I’ll take them home for mother. She says that coal burns a lot hotter in the stove than our birch logs.
The train with the big steam engine passed here daily, puffing clouds of black smoke. It pulled many railroad cars full of supplies for the busy gold mines in northern Ontario. Howard often hiked along the railway tracks back through the forest.
As he went along picking up the chunks of coal, he didn’t notice how black his hands were getting. But he did notice how heavy the backpack was getting. How many can I carry? he wondered.
That heavy load of coal on his back makes me think of our sins. Some pieces of coal were small, some were big, but they were all black, like sin, and each one added to the burden. I’m glad the Saviour said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy [burdened], and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)).
Howard began to sweat under the warm autumn sun. He swatted a fly that landed on his face. He brushed another one off. Soon his face was streaked with black.
He couldn’t see the black dirt on his face. Sin affects us in the same way. It makes us dirty in ways that we can’t even see or understand. That’s why we need a mirror. Now, where would we get a mirror to see our sin? It’s the Bible! It is God’s mirror, and it shows us what sin is and tells us what God thinks of it. Lies are sin. So is cheating, fighting or forgetting about God. Every one of us is guilty. “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)). And Proverbs 6:16-1916These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. (Proverbs 6:16‑19) tells us that God hates sin. It lists a few of them, including “a proud look” and “a lying tongue.” Yes, the Bible is God’s mirror to show us our sins.
Howard walked slowly down the street to his little house. The burden of coal seemed to be getting heavier even though he was not picking up any more. If the neighbors had looked out their windows, I’m sure they would have smiled at the dirty, tired boy.
“Mommy, I’m home,” he called out. “Look what I’ve got for you!” He swung the backpack off, and it fell heavily to the floor with a thud. He caught a reflection of his face in the glass in the door. Who is that? he wondered for a minute. Before he could look again, he heard his mother. “What happened to you? Your face and hands are dirty black!”
Now you can imagine how Howard and his mother went marching off to the sink to wash off the dirt. If he had stayed like he was, he would have made everything dirty that he touched in the house.
His mother didn’t send him away. She loved him, and she knew just what to do. God sees our sin, but He loves us and has done something for us. The Lord Jesus came to earth and was punished for our heavy burden of sins. That is why He died on the cross. He cares for you and me.
As Howard’s mother washed and scrubbed him, she told him about dirty coal. And she told him about dirty sin too. “Sin makes us dirty, and it affects everything we touch. And the burden and weight of sin just gets heavier through life.” But the Bible tells us in Romans 5:2020Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: (Romans 5:20) that where sin increased, grace increased even more. Even though our sins are so many, God’s grace and kindness overflow from His heart of love, and He can wash us clean.
The Bible asks, “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” (Proverbs 20:99Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? (Proverbs 20:9)). All boys and girls who will let God wash their sins away can say they are clean and pure. Have you ever looked into God’s mirror and then let Him wash your sins away? Howard did that when he was 12 years old.
ML-09/17/2000