Sin

Does this word and act seem heavy and daunting?

We are to do the work, even if we are not sure show it will turn out. God longs for us to use our gifts.

The past few weeks, I have been thinking on "SIN" and how we perceive this word and act. I had a very interesting conversation with a dear friend that sparked my desire to break down this word and act which betrays each and every one of us. Her perspective on life, which she has shared with me, represents her ability to create a life of beauty and love. She has managed and worked hard to make this her life, despite the rocky and broken childhood she endured, with an abusive alcoholic father. It is no wonder that she revealed to me that "SIN" is daunting, almost put off -ish to some, and turn some from Christianity. She has had to venture forth, endure unimaginable challenges, and survive horror that robbed her of her childhood. Not everyone is able to work their way out of this place of brokenness. She is unique, and her special light shines on in her. She learned how to reignite that light, and as of now, she walks a separate path from Jesus. However, I was able to piece into her descriptive verse on how heavy SIN is, "that that was why Jesus came."

Prior to sin, man and woman lived in peace. No worries, no impurity was with them. Even the land produced for them what they needed without toil. There were no weeds, thorns to rid from the garden. Imagine that! Not only does the word "SIN" sound daunting, it has wreaked havoc on our daily chores, which now require us to work endlessly to rid the ground from pricking or harming us.

What a perfect image of how thorns can pierce our flesh and draw blood leaving behind a shallow flesh wound that takes weeks to repair. The pain seems unrealistic from such a small flesh wound that barely breaks through all five layers of skin. How that pain was magnified for Jesus! He endured ridicule, defamation, flogging from "two whips" made of leather imbedded with sharp pieces of glass and lead. He was mocked, taunted, and He was crucified.

Humans can hardly handle when someone speaks falsely of our character. That act robs us of peace, and throws us into a tailspin of worry, and unsettling heartfelt torment. This unsettling torment almost forces us to seek physical pain to remove the emotional pain, to seise the mental anguish incurred from the lies or shameful acts spoken against our character. Jesus endured it all, for you and me.

Jesus, man and God, who never sinned. His sole PURPOSE of His short life, full of discipline and longing for others to learn the goodness of God, was to gather ALL SIN and allow a way out from under the weight, heaviness, and shame that SIN leaves in its wake.

His life and teachings are the example we all are to adopt and apply to our lives. He set this example for all of us, so that we can return to that place of "peace" that is rid of thorns and thistles. Peace, in the Old and New Testament, is "described as the result of a right relationship with God." The place that God had prepared for man and woman in the garden was tangible peace. The glory is that when Jesus does return, the evil one will be defeated for good. Glory will reign forever. God Be the Glory!

Prayer: Good God, kind merciful and loving, who imparts grace on each and every one of us. If Jesus could endure all that He did, out of love, surely every one of us can make the difficult step to turn from our comfort- to shine His love and glory into the lives we encounter in this life.

"Wounds do heal, but there are times to allow the Great Physician (God) to perform surgery so they heal right." -Nancie Carmichael

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 'Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" -Matthew 7: 7-12