When I was an associate pastor in far west Kentucky, I got a call one day from an elderly man in our church who had sprung a water leak under his mobile home. You know, sometimes along with being a preacher, pastors also moonlight as plumbers. So, I headed over to give him a hand.

It had been leaking pretty heavily for quite a while and was just a soaking wet mess under there. I got done what needed to be done and when I crawled out and stood in the sunlight, I just laughed and shook my head because I was completely covered from head to two in mud. I’m telling you, pigs would have been jealous.

But here’s the interesting thing, when I was under that trailer, I really had no idea how muddy I was because it was virtually dark. But, once I stepped out into the light, the mud was painfully obvious.

The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul tells us that the law of God is kind of like what that sunlight did for my mud. Like the sunlight revealed the mud that was already there, God’s law reveals the sin that was already there. He writes, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass.” You see, where we once saw no sins in our life, now by God’s law we clearly see sins everywhere. We’re covered from head to toe. The realization of our sin increased. And not only that, but the incidence of our sin increased because as sinners, being told not to do something often makes us want to do it.

But praise God! While sin increased, the grace of God abounded all the more. You see, God’s grace always outpaces our sin. And that means that whatever you’ve done, regardless of how many times you’ve done it, God’s grace can cover your sins. Beloved, turn from your sins, trust in Christ, and receive God’s sin-covering grace.

Change begins in you!