Read Isaiah 53
My Verse: "But He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
Once sin entered the world, pain became a part of every aspect of life on this earth. It became a necessary part. It is the automatic response to sin. You, LORD God could not let sin go unchecked. If You did we would simply destroy ourselves. Pain is needed to bring back balance, to cause us to realize our transgressions.
The toll for unrepentant sin is great, and it should be. You, LORD God set up an elaborate system for those that wanted forgiveness for their sins. This is spelled out in Leviticus 5:15-16. It allowed those that sinned and wanted freedom from their guilt to get that. This was in place until You, LORD God gave yourself as the ultimate sacrifice!
It really is an amazing thing You have done for us LORD God. I think few realize the horrendous pain You suffered physically and emotionally and spiritually. Sin is no light thing. And the pain that comes from it is tremendous.
Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray comes to mind here. It is a great depiction of the consequences of sin, for sin must have its consequences, pain. Today we live in such a relativistic society - sin becomes blurred and grayed. Sin and all vices of various kinds become the result of bad experiences one has had in growing up. Everyone wants to find a "reason" for why they do wrong things, so they can explain it away or blame something other than themselves for why they do what they do. There are even those that will say, "That is just the way I am." And society is expected to simply accept their behavior as "normal." But sin does have its consequences as the story of Dorian Gray shows. We may escape for a time but we will pay.
I saw a picture of a man I knew, the photo showed him as a young man. He looked so nice - cheerful, optimistic. I remember when last I saw him - he was anything but that. He had chosen to live a hedonistic life and his visage showed it.
Sin is sin. Though our conscience, which You in Your great wisdom placed within each of us, tells us every time we do a wrong thing, You, LORD God spelled out quite clearly in the Bible that sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4) I think people forget that You, LORD God authored the ten commandments and basically all sin comes under those.
Even followers of You, LORD God are not exempt from pain. In fact, it is necessary to our growth, our drawing nearer to you. We have so much wrong thinking, so many wrong habits - You, LORD God need to cleanse us and sometimes the process can be most painful. I really like how James MacDonald used Hosea 6:1 to teach on this. You love us so very much, LORD God! And as MacDonald states in his online devotional it is not a pampering kind of love. "God's love is not a pampering love, it's a perfecting love. Through pain, God called you back, further, and deeper into Him." (jamesmacdonald.com)
I forget this so often. No one wants pain, or to see others suffering. Yet this is not your fault, LORD God, the fault lies with us. Thank you for loving me enough to grow me, even though it is painful.
"Try to exclude the possibility of suffering . . . and you find that you have excluded life itself." (CSLewis. The Problem of Pain)
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
My Verse: "But He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
Once sin entered the world, pain became a part of every aspect of life on this earth. It became a necessary part. It is the automatic response to sin. You, LORD God could not let sin go unchecked. If You did we would simply destroy ourselves. Pain is needed to bring back balance, to cause us to realize our transgressions.
The toll for unrepentant sin is great, and it should be. You, LORD God set up an elaborate system for those that wanted forgiveness for their sins. This is spelled out in Leviticus 5:15-16. It allowed those that sinned and wanted freedom from their guilt to get that. This was in place until You, LORD God gave yourself as the ultimate sacrifice!
It really is an amazing thing You have done for us LORD God. I think few realize the horrendous pain You suffered physically and emotionally and spiritually. Sin is no light thing. And the pain that comes from it is tremendous.
Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray comes to mind here. It is a great depiction of the consequences of sin, for sin must have its consequences, pain. Today we live in such a relativistic society - sin becomes blurred and grayed. Sin and all vices of various kinds become the result of bad experiences one has had in growing up. Everyone wants to find a "reason" for why they do wrong things, so they can explain it away or blame something other than themselves for why they do what they do. There are even those that will say, "That is just the way I am." And society is expected to simply accept their behavior as "normal." But sin does have its consequences as the story of Dorian Gray shows. We may escape for a time but we will pay.
I saw a picture of a man I knew, the photo showed him as a young man. He looked so nice - cheerful, optimistic. I remember when last I saw him - he was anything but that. He had chosen to live a hedonistic life and his visage showed it.
Sin is sin. Though our conscience, which You in Your great wisdom placed within each of us, tells us every time we do a wrong thing, You, LORD God spelled out quite clearly in the Bible that sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4) I think people forget that You, LORD God authored the ten commandments and basically all sin comes under those.
Even followers of You, LORD God are not exempt from pain. In fact, it is necessary to our growth, our drawing nearer to you. We have so much wrong thinking, so many wrong habits - You, LORD God need to cleanse us and sometimes the process can be most painful. I really like how James MacDonald used Hosea 6:1 to teach on this. You love us so very much, LORD God! And as MacDonald states in his online devotional it is not a pampering kind of love. "God's love is not a pampering love, it's a perfecting love. Through pain, God called you back, further, and deeper into Him." (jamesmacdonald.com)
I forget this so often. No one wants pain, or to see others suffering. Yet this is not your fault, LORD God, the fault lies with us. Thank you for loving me enough to grow me, even though it is painful.
"Try to exclude the possibility of suffering . . . and you find that you have excluded life itself." (CSLewis. The Problem of Pain)
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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