I was sitting at the table the other day and looked into the china cabinet. On the bottom shelf there is a silver tea set I bought my wife years ago. When I first looked at it, I did not recognize it. Instead of being silver it has tarnished and turned a different color. It is not as beautiful as the day that I bought it.

I began to reflect at this point on the lives of some people. They begin well in their Christian walk, but somewhere along the way their lives become tarnished also.

The things we deal with in life on a daily basis can cause us to lose our focus and stray from the One who made us. Sometimes we deal with children who have become unruly and keep the home in a turmoil. Other times the medical problems we face cause us to lose the perspective our God wants us to have. Today’s economy can cause us to think more about what we don’t/can’t have instead of what we are blessed with. And the list goes on and on. Have you found yourself like the tea set at times...tarnished?

We have some “tarnish” remover. I can take the paste, wipe it on the silver and it will be renewed to look as good as the day that I bought it. If I were to do this it would be shining and glistening instead of having this dingy look.

When life has become bad for us we can take the Word of God and apply it to our lives. The Word has something for everyone and especially if we are dealing with certain problems. If there is something that we need to repent of, then we can do that and be made clean. We have a God who forgives when we come to Him with broken hearts. He restores us to that place we had before we let things tarnish us. That does not mean every problem in life will be taken away, but at least we will have the strength to meet the problems knowing that God is there for us.

The important thing, however, is that we must make the effort. God’s grace has been provided. Now, we need to take advantage of it by responding to Him. Do you need to?