In the time I’ve lived in Portland, I’ve seen the skyline change a lot. One of the most prominent features in the Portland skyline is the Oregon Convention Center with two impressive jade-green glass towers stretching 260 feet into the air.

Shortly before the convention center was completed in 1989, however, these glass towers suddenly posed a problem that threatened to delay the opening of the $90 million project. No one had thought to ask how those green glass towers were going to be cleaned! Regular window-washing systems wouldn’t work. So, a Los Angeles-based engineering firm had to be brought in to figure out a way to keep the twin spires from becoming permanently dirty and discolored.

We humans don’t always think ahead, but God always does. Even before He created us, He had a plan for cleansing our hearts. The drama of redemption would take thousands of years, but at the end of it, through the blood of Jesus, all of our sins would be forgiven. Our lives would be wiped clean of all of our wrongdoings. Even Isaiah foretold it: “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” We did nothing to deserve this; we just need to receive God’s great gift to us. Then our lives gleam like jade-green glass towers in the Portland sky, pointing those around us to God’s saving love.

This is Luis Palau.