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From Grey through Black to White!
Mary's Testimony "But look! I know I'm not so bad, I'm not black or white, I'm a sort of grey" - so I argued with my husband.
In desperation he constantly explained that no-one can be grey. We are all sinners - Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".
Isaiah 64:5 "all our righteousness is like filthy rags". Isaiah 53:6 "all of us like sheep, have gone astray".
It was no good though - I could not accept these scriptures as applying to me.
I had been brought up to go to church every Sunday. I said my prayers. I read my Bible and I was fairly kind and reasonably good. This surely made me GREY, rather than wicked BLACK.
However, deep in the recesses of my being I knew that all was not well. I knew that God was not a Father who I could love and Jesus was not a Friend to whom I could talk. I really didn't understand what Christianity was about. But how could I tell anyone that, after all these years of pretence?
Then came THE day! It was a day when the Holy Spirit lit a small spark and I began to see 'trees walking'. Mark 8:24
First of all I understood that I was BLACK! Then of course, I understood why I needed to be saved. God must punish sin. He could never accept me as a sinner with all my filthy BLACK rags of self-righteousness. I needed new clothes. I needed someone to cleanse me - to save me from my sins. Jesus Christ the Son of God, had died - having lived a perfect life in His humanity here on earth. I saw He had died in the place of sinners who would believe on Him. I was a sinner. He had lived a perfect life and died in my place. God punished Him instead of me. Hallelujah!
The small spark became a flame and once my blind eyes were really opened, I began to learn more and more of the grace and mercy of a Sovereign God - and still continue to do so. But now I know that I am WHITE - Isaiah 61:10 "He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness".
What is amazing is the fact that the more I understand how God sees me in new WHITE robes, the more I realise my own sinful blackness. How could I ever have believed that I was GREY?!! The BLACK is awful, but as I acknowledge it, my gracious Father sees it no more. When Jesus died, He took my BLACK upon Himself and gave to me in His glorious resurrection His WHITE, that I might be accepted and loved by God forever and forever.
Mary Serjeant
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