You Are Not Too Far Gone
What Isaiah’s Promise About Scarlet Sins Really Means
There are some mistakes that are easy to move on from.
You say something dumb, apologize, and by the next day everyone has basically forgotten about it.
Other mistakes do not feel that simple.
Maybe you hurt someone you care about. Maybe you broke someone’s trust. Maybe you have fallen back into the same habit you promised yourself you were finally done with. Maybe there is something you have done that makes you wonder whether God could possibly see you the same way anymore.
And sometimes the hardest part is not even what happened.
It is what you start believing about yourself afterward.
There is an enormous difference between saying:
“I did something wrong.”
and saying:
“There is something wrong with me.”
One recognizes a mistake.
The other turns the mistake into an identity.
That is one of the reasons I love what the Lord says through Isaiah:
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
—Isaiah 1:18
Think about the image Isaiah uses.
Scarlet is not a faint little stain.
It is deep. It is noticeable. It is the kind of color you would assume could never become white again.
And yet God does not say, “If your sins are barely noticeable, I can probably help.”
He says:
“Though your sins be as scarlet…”
Even then.
Even those.
Even yours.
“…they shall be as white as snow.”
I think one of the most important words in that verse actually comes before the scarlet.
The Lord says:
“Come.”
He does not say hide.
He does not say stay away until you have fixed yourself.
He does not say return after you have gone six months without making another mistake.
He says:
Come now.
That is very different from the message Satan usually sends after we sin.
Satan loves to use the same mistake twice.
First, he tempts us to make it.
Then, after we do, he uses it to convince us that we are too dirty, too embarrassed, too unworthy, or too far gone to come back to Jesus Christ.
That is quite a strategy when you think about it.
Convince someone to leave the path, and then convince them there is no road back.
But Jesus Christ has spent His entire ministry proving the opposite.
Look at some of the people God used in scripture.
Alma the Younger had actively fought against the Church.
The sons of Mosiah had tried to destroy faith.
Paul persecuted early Christians.
Corianton made serious mistakes while serving as a missionary.
And yet none of their worst moments became the final sentence of their story.
Corianton’s story is especially interesting.
His father Alma did not pretend that what he had done was insignificant. He corrected him directly. Repentance was necessary.
But Alma also continued teaching him.
He continued pointing him toward Christ.
And later, Corianton returned to the work.
His mistake was real.
But so was repentance.
Maybe we need to learn to hold both of those truths at the same time.
Jesus Christ takes sin seriously.
And Jesus Christ takes repentance seriously too.
Sometimes we are strangely willing to believe in the power of sin more than we believe in the power of the Savior.
We think, “Yes, Christ’s Atonement is infinite—but you don’t know what I did.”
Or:
“Yes, people can change—but I’ve messed this up too many times.”
President Jeffrey R. Holland taught:
“It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.”
Read that again.
There is no mistake hiding somewhere beneath the reach of Jesus Christ.
That does not mean repentance is effortless.
Sometimes it takes courage to confess something.
Sometimes we have to apologize.
Sometimes trust has to be rebuilt.
Sometimes we need help from parents, a bishop, or another trusted adult.
Sometimes change takes longer than we hoped.
But the fact that repentance may require effort does not mean you are beyond hope.
In fact, the desire to come back is evidence that the Savior is already inviting you forward.
I have had moments in my own life when repentance required me to face something I would much rather have avoided.
It is interesting how terrifying that first honest step can feel.
You imagine all the possible consequences.
You imagine disappointment.
You imagine judgment.
You imagine that admitting what happened will somehow make everything worse.
And then, very often, something surprising happens.
The hiding was heavier than the honesty.
There can be incredible relief in finally stepping into the light.
Maybe there is something you need to bring into the light right now.
Maybe it is not some enormous sin.
Maybe it is simply something you know needs to change.
A habit.
A relationship.
Something you keep looking at.
The way you are treating someone.
A lie that needs to be corrected.
A spiritual habit that has slowly disappeared.
Do not confuse needing repentance with being a failure.
Repentance is one of the greatest evidences that God has not given up on us.
Why would Jesus Christ invite you to change if change were impossible?
Isaiah’s image leaves us with something beautiful.
Scarlet becomes snow.
Not slightly less scarlet.
Not pink.
Not mostly clean.
White as snow.
That is what Jesus Christ can do.
Scripture
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
—Isaiah 1:18
“Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”
—Doctrine and Covenants 58:42
Reflection
Is there a mistake in your life that you have started allowing to define you?
Do you believe more deeply in the power of your mistake or in the power of Jesus Christ to help you change?
What might the Savior be inviting you to “come” and do right now?
Have you ever experienced the relief that comes from apologizing, confessing, making something right, or finally asking for help?
What did that experience teach you about Jesus Christ?
Today’s Challenge
Think about one thing in your life that needs to come out of hiding.
Then identify one honest next step.
It might be:
praying honestly about it
apologizing
talking with a parent
meeting with your bishop
removing something from your phone
repairing something you damaged
starting again with a habit you have neglected
You do not have to solve everything today.
But you can take one step toward Christ.
And if you have already sincerely repented of something, your challenge may be different.
Stop dragging the scarlet stain around after Jesus Christ has promised to make it white.
Believe Him.
Christ-Centered Thought
Jesus Christ did not suffer for some imaginary version of you who never makes mistakes.
He suffered for the real you.
The you who sometimes knows better and still chooses poorly.
The you who gets discouraged.
The you who has to try again.
The you who may sometimes wonder if you have already used up your chances.
You have not.
His invitation is still:
“Come now.”
That does not mean yesterday did not matter.
It means yesterday does not have to own tomorrow.
Because of Jesus Christ, repentance is not merely feeling bad about what happened.
It is the possibility of becoming different because of what He has done.
Scarlet is not the end of Isaiah’s sentence.
Snow is.
And your worst mistake does not have to be the end of your story either.
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