The White Stone

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." - Reveleation 2:17

This is a passage from the letters to the seven churches found in the book of Revelation. This particular passage was sent to the church at Pergamum. I don't want to get into the hidden manna part, but I do want to take a moment to talk about the white stone. Why a white stone? Surely there are more precious rocks out there? Why not a diamond, or a ruby, or an emerald, or something cool-looking like that? Why a plain white stone? In Biblical times, when a person was on trial, instead of saying whether the person was innocent or guilty, the judge would use a white stone and a black stone. I'm pretty sure you can figure out which one is which. Saying that the one who overcomes will receive a white stone is another way of saying that, for Christ-followers, God doesn't look down and see our sin; He sees us as totally innocent, devoid of all shortcomings. How awesome is that! God looks at me, a wretched, sinful, backsliding man, and sees JESUS!!! Not only that, but the white stone has my name on it--not the name Hal, but a name that only God and myself know. This innocence that God bestows upon us is a personal gift. God doesn't just say "All of you down there, you're innocent." He looks at me, He looks at you, if you're a Christ-follower, and says "(You're name here), you're innocent because of what My Son did for you."
To quote Aaron Keyes, "You're not guilty anymore!!!"

Lord, thank You for Your forgiveness and Your forgetfulness. Thank You for setting my sins away from me as far as the east is from the west. Thank you for drowning my sins to the bottom of the deepest sea. And thank You for continuing to forgive me, even though I continually fail You. Your love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness never end, and I can never do enough to repay You for that, but help me to spend the rest of my life trying to do so. Amen.