This morning I was reading and came across this little piece of advice from the pen of one of America's leading writers....
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"Perhaps the wound is old. A parent abused you. A teacher slighted you. A mate betrayed you . . . And you are angry.
Or perhaps the wound is fresh. The friend that owes you money just drove by in a new car. The boss who hired you with promises of promotions has forgotten how to pronounce your name. . . . And you are hurt.
Part of you us broken, and the other part is bitter. Part of you wants to cry, and part of you wants to fight . . . There is a fire burning in your heart. It's the fire of anger. . . .
And you are left with a decision. "Do I put the fire out or heat it up? Do I get over it or get even? Do I release it or resent it? Do I let my hurts heal, or do I let them turn into hate?" . . . .
Unfaithfulness is wrong. Revenge is bad. But the worst part of all that is, without forgiveness, bitterness is all that is left." ~Max Lucado, The Applause of Heaven
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Hmmmm.... Difficult words to hear. Even more difficult to heed. But. . . . Freedom isn't free.
Till our next visit...
One of the most difficult things to talk to anyone about is consequences that result from choices we make. This morning I sat and read like I normally do most mornings.
Let me share some thoughts from that little visit to the pages of a book by Max Lucado...
"Sin does to a life what shears do to a flower. A cut at the stem separates the flower from the source of life. Initially the flower is attractive, still colorful and strong. But watch that flower over a period of time, and the leaves will wilt and the petals will drop. No matter what you do, the flower will never live again. Surround it with water. Stick the stem in soil. Baptize it with fertilizer. Glue the flower back on the stem. Do what you wish. The flower is dead...
A dead soul has no life.
Cut off from God, the soul withers and dies. The consequences of sin is not a
bad day or a bad mood but a dead soul. The sign of a dead soul is clear: poisoned lips and cursing mouths, feet that lead to violence and eyes that don't see God...
The finished work of sin is to kill the soul." (From the book In The Grip of Grace)
Grace has transformed my life over the years. The gifts of grace have brought me life that I never even had a clue existed. That may seem like an exageration, but it's actually it's an understatement. In my earlier years I was like many, maybe even most, of those who came through the era of Christianity where sin was the topic of every conversation about faith. It was the core of most sermons and Sunday school lessons. NO MATTER the passage, most if not all of the visits with scripture lead to the same conclusion, sin is bad and you probably sinned, therefore, you're bad.
I didn't have a chance, "you're bad" was the message. It was true, I was bad. Sinful. But I grew to learn that the "bad" no longer determined how God looked at me. That is where grace changed the landscape.
The older I get and the more grace I am aware of, the more I realize just what the gift of grace is. It is a reminder that although you "reap what you sow", grace says, no you don't.
Don't read any more into that statement than I mean. I do mean that there are times when, if you make a bad choice, the consequences visit your world. Grace says, "I won't take back the gift of life I gave you just because you made a wrong decision." Grace says "but I also understand the value of having your choices come to rest in your life."
We, ME, need to change. It is called maturing. We don't allow a baby to wear diapers forever. Why then do we treat our "consequences" as anything but a
reminder that we're not made to continue making bad choices. Maturity is what you were built for. Anything less is to truly miss the wonder of the creator for your years here on this globe.
Grace is the gift of a total "memory dump" before God.
Grace is the gift of "the struggle" to grow through the good and bad choices we make.
Grace is what covers "sin".
Since we all stand at the gate of opportunity, we all are able to choose bad, against good. Why is it that we make the bad choice and it crosses up with God's perfect design for us, we are afraid to call it sin?
Sin is the realm in which grace does it's work.
I guess that begs this question, without sin, what the heck we gonna do with Grace?
Or perhaps the wound is fresh. The friend that owes you money just drove by in a new car. The boss who hired you with promises of promotions has forgotten how to pronounce your name. . . . And you are hurt.
