Most people dislike rubbish and dirt—whether it’s trash piling up on the street or the feeling of being unwashed. But without God, sin has left us spiritually filthy. Our hands are stained by injustice and our minds tainted by impure thoughts. We long to be clean but can’t wash away sin ourselves. God says, All our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Even our best efforts fall short. But God loves us and has made a way to cleanse us. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Scarlet and crimson are meant to be immovable dyes that won’t ever wash out. They’re a good metaphor for the sin that clings to us and makes us dirty, but God washes away all our sin and makes us perfectly clean when we trust in Jesus and acknowledge that He died for us.
