In my devotions at present I am being reminded of sin; the original sin, my sin, even your sin and the consequences.
The photo (left) reminded me of consequences. I imagine that many, many years ago an enterprising person went around this cemetery planting cypress pines with the aim of beautifying the place. Little did he or she realise that in 120 years, the cute little sapling would dominate the grave.
Little did Adam and Eve realise … little do we realise the lie, the cheat, the disobedience, the selfishness, the arrogance, in fact, any of the sins we tend to call “little” or “white”, have an impact on ourselves, others and our relationship with God. We just let them shoot, grow and develop. Sometimes the consequences are not there for us to see immediately. Sometimes, like the cypress tree, it will only be evident in the distant future. That is when the full impact is revealed.
For the Christian, forgiveness is always at hand. We are usually not slow at appropriating it. I must add, I’m all for it. However, we often forget about confession, reconciliation and restoration. There are consequences to deal with. The hurt, the anger and the disappointment, often weighing on people who are close to us, still needs healing. Bridges need to be built. We still need to ask, “Will you please forgive me.” Sometimes the answer might be,”No. I’m not ready yet.” That is a consequence we need to live with.
Yes, God forgives, and He looks at His children through Christ coloured glasses. He sees us as guiltless and innocent through his son but that mustn’t stop us from taking steps to stop the cypress trees from growing in places where they can do great damage.
Travels from Ur 