"...Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Pet. 1:18-19)

One day a young man was being escorted through a coal mine. At the entrance of one of the dim passageways, he spied a beautiful white flower growing out of the black earth. He asked, "How can it blossom in such purity and radiance in this dirty mine?" His guide replied, "Throw some coal dust on it and see for yourself." When he did, he was surprised that the fine, sooty particles slid right off the snowy petals, leaving the plant just as lovely and unstained as before. Its surface was so smooth that the grit and grime could not adhere to it.

Just as the flower could not control its habitat, so we live in a world filled with evil. Nevertheless, by the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, it is possible for the Christian to be clean in a dirty place.