Someone once told a story about sitting on a hill watching a flock of sheep grazing in a green pasture below. Against the beautiful green grass the sheep appeared to be pure, clean and white. Then it began to snow. Gradually, the green grass was covered with pure white snow.
     Suddenly the man realized that the sheep were not as clean as he had originally thought. Now they looked dingy and dirty against the freshly fallen snow. Had the sheep suddenly become dirty? No, the man simply had a pure standard against which to judge their color.
     Understanding the holiness and purity of God helps us see our own true color or condition. Oh yes, we can always find someone who is more dingy and dirty than ourselves, but that doesn't make us one bit cleaner. That is simply self-righteousness. The Apostle Paul said, “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (2 Cor 10:12). 
     All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standards of holiness. “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one’” (Rom 3:10). Eventually, everyone will stand accountable before the Holy God and be judged according to His unchanging law. 
As you can see, the first two aspects of the Christian message presents man with quite a dilemma. God, the holy judge of the universe will one day judge all that is impure. But try as we may, we have no ability to free ourselves from sin. 
     But there is good news. God has a solution to our dilemma!
 
 
 

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"How Clean is Clean?"  is an excerpt  from the book: Getting A Grip On Life by Brad Sherman