Our Soul Is Not Like Water
From Cedar Grove House to House/Heart to Heart January/February, 2013
How hard is it to get pure water? It's not as easy as you would think. Most of us would consider water right out of the tap to be pure water. Yet, if you study tap water you will find that there is a lot of stuff in it other than H2O. Municipal water supplies have tolerance levels of various substances. As long as the amount of the substance does not exceed the tolerance level, the water is deemed drinkable, but it is still not pure. Some municipalities have higher standards than others, of course. One of the highest is New York City. According to a recent news report1, New York City water is regarded as world class and is subjected to half a million tests each year by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Yet, it is still not pure water. According to the same report, two men have recently opened a "water bar" called "the Molecule" in New York City, which sells New York City tap water that has been "extra-filtered" through a $25,000 machine that takes the water through a seven-stage process and produces, according to the owners, "pure H20." So, it's not as easy as you would think to get pure water.
If you have water that is contaminated it is possible, albeit difficult, to get it pure again. On the other hand, if you have a soul that has become contaminated, is it possible for it to become pure again? We all have a soul. It is our most precious possession (Matthew 16:26). When we are born, our soul is innocent and pure. Yet, as we go through life our soul becomes contaminated with the sin we commit. When we do that which is contrary to the law of God (1 John 3:4), we bear the guilt of our action on our soul—like a white garment with a red stain (Isaiah 1:18) our soul is contaminated. Can it be made pure again?
Our soul is not like water. It cannot be fed through filter after filter and have the contamination gradually pulled out to where it is pure once more. Our soul has been stained by our actions. We cannot go back in time and undo them. They are on our record, and we will have to answer for them some day (2 Corinthians 5:10). Yet it is possible for a sin stained soul to be made pure again. "'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the LORD, 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.'" (Isaiah 1:18). God is able to restore our soul to a state of purity. He is able to wash our sins away (Revelation 1:5). He is able to remove them from our record—to remember them no more (Hebrews 8:12). What a blessing it is, to have a God who can take our soul stained and marred by sin, and make it pure and white again!
1 http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/nw120805.html