Sometimes, I think we underestimate the comprehensive change that comes through the power of the gospel. We forget that we have been brought from death to life, from darkness to light, from guilt to forgiveness. I was reminded of this recently while reading C.S. Lewis’s thoughts on the Transfiguration of the Lord in Mark 9.
Peter, James, and John were the only three witnesses to Jesus’s conversation with Moses and Elijah. They saw the brightness of his glory first-hand. In Mark’s account of the story written years later, Lewis noted that “this shining or whiteness affected his clothes as much as his body. Mark indeed mentions the clothes more explicitly than the face, and adds, with his inimitable naiveté, that ‘no laundry could do anything like it.'”1
This same whiteness characterizes Jesus’s appearance at the beginning of the book of Revelation, and it gives me hope for my own future. One day, I will stand before God, complete in him, unstained by sin, and removed from sin’s presence for all eternity. This is the power of the gospel, the mystery of God’s lavish laundry.
The Scandal of Grace’s Laundry
Doing laundry for a posse of four sons often felt more like a chemistry experiment than a household chore. Scrubbing, spraying, treating, pre-washing, and re-washing were all part of the formula, and sometimes the result was great–other times, not so much.
Unlike my laundry experiments, God’s cleansing work in the believer’s life is always a sure thing! No matter what the stain may be, there’s grace for it.
God’s cleansing work in the believer’s life is always a sure thing! No matter what the stain may be, there’s grace for it.
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Poet Luci Shaw also raised a houseful of children, and I wonder if that’s behind this vivid laundry metaphor:
Now as we yield ourselves to be washed in grace’s laundry,
the scandal of undeserved mercy acts on us
as God’s unlikely bleach.”2
We are acted upon just as surely as the stained T-shirts and muddy jeans in my “chemistry experiments,” and this becomes clear in the way scripture talks about our experience of grace:
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”
(Colossians 1:13)
God is taking the active role in our salvation, and he carries us from darkness into light, from the kingdom of this world into his own kingdom of beauty, goodness, and truth.
When the method of conveyance is flawless, we can be sure of our destination!
This is good news for every believer because we know we can’t sin ourselves outside of his love. How does this impact your sense of the security of your position in Christ?
This is good news for anyone who’s praying for a prodigal or trusting God for the salvation of someone dear. God can work on their hearts and orchestrate events in their lives to bring about their “transfer” into his kingdom.
Lord,
We are certain that “no laundry could do anything like it!” We thank you for the “unlikely bleach” of your mercy, undeserved and yet poured out with abandon because of the cross. Give us courage to serve you, secure because you have carried us into your kingdom.
Amen
God takes the active role in our salvation. He carries us from darkness to light, from the kingdom of this world to his own kingdom of beauty, goodness and truth. The method of conveyance is flawless. We can be sure of our destination!
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Holding You in the Light,
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This seven-day devotional plan affirms that perseverance is so much more than simply hanging on. Those who follow Jesus Christ are familiar with the dogged patience of waiting, because we have read the words of Scripture about eternal rewards for those who endure. So we persevere—sometimes just because God has commanded us to. When the newness wears off, when we don’t feel like it, when everything just feels too hard, we press on, and we press in to Christ. He is the prize.
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Living Our Days 
Great analogy! Good thing He doesn’t give up and throw us out like when the stains didn’t want to come out.
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So thankful that God has persevered with me through SO many laundry cycles!
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I love the picture of his Grace taking root in our heart and permeating from the inside out. How opposite of the Pharisees who cleaned the outside, but left the inside rotten.
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That’s a powerful observation, Debbie. God will stop at nothing to redeem and preserve!
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I’m thankful for God’s through cleansing! Do you know if that poem by Luci Shaw is in a particular book?
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Funny you should ask. I’ve ransacked every single volume of Luci’s poetry on my shelf, and can’t find it in any of them. I have yet to check her other (prose) works to see if I found it there—it’s possible I saw it quoted in someone else’s book, so I’m puzzled.
Stay tuned…
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What a great analogy! And unlike our laundry bleach, God’s “unlikely bleach” won’t ruin the fabric either.
The title and theme of this post reminded me of a worship song I used to love and haven’t heard or sung for quite awhile – Scandal of Grace ❤
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It really is a scandal, and our enemy would love to remind us that we ARE undeserving. God is so good to meet us in our misery and in our chaos with the cleansing power of his mercy.
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Praise God for his lavish laundry! Thank you for such vivid imagery, Michele. As you related your stain-removal efforts on your boys’ clothes, you brought back memories of standing in front of the washer myself and doing the same for our three when they were young. I’d check each shirt and pair of pants/shorts for stains because we all know what happens when we miss one and that piece of clothing goes through the dryer. And we certainly couldn’t afford replacements all the time. / Praise God he doesn’t need any spray bottle of stain-removal, bleach, or vigorous rubbing to rid us of the soil of our sin. I picture him speaking over the whole load: “You are forgiven.” And every transgression is blotted out instantaneously (Isaiah 43:25). What a compassionate God he is! Thank you for deepening our appreciation, Michele.
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How wonderful that the work of grace’s laundry has already been done. And now we live in the mercy of God’s forgiveness and acceptance. That’s quite a gift!
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Beautiful and assuring post, Michele. I have never ceased to marvel at the first snowfall of the winter as it always, always reminds me that the blood of Jesus makes me whiter than snow. Thank you for this reminder today!
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That’s something for us to look forward to as we come to the “end” of summer. I do think we need visual cues to keep such a beautiful and unbelievably gracious truth in front of our eyes.
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The Bible talks about God being boundless, having no limits. The day came when I was sorting a huge pile of dirty laundry. My mind’s eye saw the infinite. Love is infinite. Thanks for the laundry story.
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Such a great reminder that our limits are what differentiate us from God. All his perfections are ultimate!
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