“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone; the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Have you ever had one of those experiences where you knew something about God, but you hadn’t experienced it more fully until just that moment?
For me, that was my trip to the ocean.
I remember the waves, cresty and foamy, crashing over me so fully. I was drenched, covered…and it hit me.
I was forgiven.
The God who made the universe was big enough to create these massive, drenching waves that crashed over me and washed my body clean…Surely he was big enough to wash my sins away!
I feel like this is a lie that the devil tries to tell as as young Christians, and even as we mature. “No, God can’t forgive THAT thing. You did something that no one knows about. What you did is so different, so wrong, so unbelievably forgivable…remember when…x, y, z?”
But the devil is the accuser of the brethren. He loves to condemn.
GOD, THOUGH.
God is is bigger, stronger, and able. In that moment when the waves crashed over me, bubbling and sweeping, I knew. It was a reminder that God’s word is true. God’s love was and is higher, deeper, stronger, wider.That’s why He sent Christ – for full forgiveness.
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
The physical, the rushing waves much larger than myself, mirrored the actual spiritual – the God of the universe loved me. He was truly big enough to wash me clean. There are hundreds of scriptures to back that up. His love is high, deep, and wide. His forgiveness is complete.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” -John 3:16-17
In a way, this reminded me of baptism. We are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. He atones for all of our sins. His sacrifice was and is the most important. He did it. This moment was a great reminder for me of being truly washed clean.
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
When I envisioned a page full of colorful soapy bubbles, I was reminded of this moment, this reminder of rebirth in Christ Jesus. The bubbles in the painting represent the bubbles of waves’ crests and the reminder that Jesus, our perfect spotless Lamb, is capable of washing us completely clean of our sins. The bubbles can be made with soap – He truly washes us clean.
Maybe you have a memory of a time that the physical mirrored the supernatural, or when you were given an illustration as a reminder. This craft is designed as a reminder that Jesus truly is big enough to be our Savior, that we are fully washed clean, that Jesus was sent by His Father to forgive us for our sins and draw us closer to Him, and that we have a place with Him as a new creation. We can even confess our sins to one another and be healed. There is no place so deep that God cannot reach. There is no stain so deep that God cannot clean. We trust in Him and we are saved, washed, healed, delivered, and set free. God is big enough to clean and He’s big enough to trust. Rest knowing that you are His and He sees you washed clean, presented spotless by your precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Materials for Soap Bubble Art
1 tbsp dish soap
1 tbsp tempera paint (Be sure not to use acrylic as it does not work well.)
1 tbsp water
1 straw
1 small cup (disposable recommended)
popsicle stick or plastic spoon (for stirring)
painters’ tape (for cross formation)
durable drawing paper, watercolor paper, or cardstock
Instructions
Step 1: Place painter’s tape in cross formation over durable art paper.
Step 2: Use popsicle stick or plastic spoon to mix 1 tbsp dish soap, 1 tbsp tempera paint, and 1 tbsp water in small cup.
Step 3: Place one end of the straw in the already mixed cup. Blow out into the straw only to blow bubbles until the bubbles go over the top of the cup.
Step 4: Place art paper on top of cup to imprint the bubbles on the page.
Step 5: Repeat until page is covered.
Step 6: Listen to worship music, share testimonies, or talk about the verses again as you let it dry.
Step 7: Peel off painter’s tape.
Step 8: Write or paste verses on the page as reminders.
This craft reminds us that we are immersed in God’s presence, wrapped up in His love, washed clean in Christ, sons and daughters, each a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Thanks for joining today. Share if you have a memory of God revealing himself to you or reminding you of His sweet forgiveness and His goodness in the comments below.