05/04/2022
Have we ever been through times when our sins became so intense that we cried out in pain from within the midst of them, and sobbed as we asked for God’s forgiveness and mercy? Perhaps an addiction was destroying our body, or ruining our marriage; maybe we stole or lied about something, and when found out, our transgressions brought great shame on us, or we lost our job as a result of them. The consequences of sin can be severe as God disciplines us for them. Are any of us being disciplined now? If we are, take heart for God loves you… and will bless you in your correction.
““Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you.”
Job 5:17-19 ESV
It is true that the natural repercussions of a person’s sinful actions can be bad enough on their own, even for those who do not believe, but for the faithful we are pursued even further by our sins as God repairs what is spiritually broken within us, and leads us back to Him. I love today’s passage from Job because we are told that God will not only forgive, and heal the wounds caused by our sin, but He will go even further, and keep us from slipping into evil because of them. He protects us against falling victim to a reprobate mind.
“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
Romans 1:24-25 ESV
I used to read the short proverb concerning raising up our children in the way they should go, and thought it was referring to their remaining unwavering in faith, without sin, or in a constant state of righteous, but as I became wiser it was revealed to me that this passage refers to something much deeper than that… it speaks to us about instilling the voice and heart of our faith in our children so that it becomes rooted there. It is telling us that even though they might fall victim to sin, they will not lose the conscience of God that will lead them back to His bosom from any distant place that they may have wandered to; they will forever remain receptive to the discipline of God. It means the Holy Spirit within them will shield them against becoming evil, or falling prey to a reprobate mind, and that the correcting hand of the Father will still be able to reach them, and return them to Himself. This should be of great comfort to parents who have raised their children to believe in God and Jesus Christ.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6 ESV
So, do not despair if your child grows to adulthood, and appears to have wandered from the faith. Do not blame yourself and say that you have failed them, because you have done all that was expected of you in their youth… now the seed is planted, and the Lord will discipline them, prune them, water them, and raise them to a fullness of faith. He will not abandon them, and will complete what you have started because you planted His conscience within them. He will do with them what He was able to do with you… even if it occurs in places, or at times when you are unable to see it happen. We all would like to be the father in the parable of the prodigal son, and witness the rebirth of faith in our children, but not all of us will be so fortunate; some of us by distance, or by death, will miss that moment.
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
Luke 15:20-24 ESV
Perhaps we are the prodigal son. Perhaps the conscience of God was instilled in us by good parents, and we are being disciplined by Him right now in preparation for our return home. Or, maybe we didn’t receive such training from our parents, yet God’s love through Jesus Christ is confronting the sins we spoke of earlier, and is causing us to reach a threshold of pain within our spirit that is leading us to the home of our adoptive Heavenly Father. Can we see the hand of God shattering the life of sin we have been living? Can we feel His loving kindness as He begins to heal us? Is He pulling us back from the precipice of evil, and returning us to Himself… right now?
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
1 Timothy 2:3-6 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for parents who raise us up to know you. Thank you for loving us and calling us to you, even from the depths of sin. Thank you father for your discipline, and for the pain of sin that makes it unbearable for us to endure our separation from you. Shatter our lives of sin Lord, and bring us to our knees before you. Help us to see the face of Jesus, and hear his beckoning call as we struggle, and suffer in our transgressions. Lift us up Lord and guide our staggering steps to Jesus where we will be redeemed, and you can heal us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who corrects, and heals your children with the same loving hand. Praised be your name for every soothing release from sin we find in your Son Jesus, and for each moment of peace and joy you bless us with. Wash us clean from our sins with the precious blood of Jesus, and remove us from our suffering in the world so that we can find our relief in your arms. Pronounce us worthy of eternity with you Lord, and dry the tears from our eyes as we take our places at your table. This is the pinnacle, and culmination of your grace; this is the fullness of glory that you have sought in us. Praised be your name, now, and forevermore.
Rich Forbes