I admit it. I love the office shredder. It might be because I am mesmerized by loud machines that destroy things. But I am also fascinated by the process. After a document is run through, there is no way to reconstruct it, no way to put it together again, and no way to know what was originally there. We use it to destroy sensitive documents, addresses, and any material we do not want seen.

I also use it for something else. I use it to destroy my mistakes. If I print the wrong form, misspell a name, or use the wrong name — a quick trip to the shredder and it is as if it never happened. It is gone forever.

But I also enjoy the shredder because there are times when see it as a reminder of what God has done for me. I envision lists of my mistakes and sins kept somewhere by the Devil himself. And I picture Jesus taking those lists and running them through the shredder. The evidence of my guilt is destroyed. The list of my sins can never be reconstructed. They are gone forever.

That is exactly what God did when He sent His Son Jesus to die for my sins. Because I believe in Jesus, because I decided to die with him, my sins are gone forever. The devil cannot use them against me to keep me out of heaven.

So I enjoy using the shredder. It reminds me how grateful I am that God has wiped away my sins forever. He can do that for you too. If you want to visit more about this, check out our blog at www.hopeforlife.org.

Jesus has permanently shredded the list of my sins.
Or write me at steve@hopeforlife.org.


(Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing, retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article.