Being Saved – the consequences.
I have read stories of near-death survivors. Those who never intended to die but found themselves one heartbeat from death. Those who intended to die but were pulled back a heartbeat away from succeeding. The consequence in many is to be changed. To see living differently. To see how brief and fleeting our span really is. To see how much we consider important – is not. And to live differently. To live kindly. To live thankfully. To live lovingly. Some talk spiritually. Others do not.
I have read stories of near-death survivors. Those who have found God and died to self. Were buried and reborn. Who were submerged and arose cleansed. Who have been forgiven and now are saved. All talk spiritually. All.
And talking spiritually seems to include sin. Sin. The great consequence of being saved. Sin. Sin no more. Forgive the sinner not the sin. We all sin. I am just a poor sinner. We cannot help but sin. Saved by grace. If not for Grace.
The first bunch of survivors seem to see life very differently: bright, full of hope, full of love, full of living for the moment. The second bunch sees sin everywhere.
Being loved – the consequences
I am a father. Not a perfect father. Sometimes not even a great father. But always a father. I have messed up. And with each small child person there have been moments when they have messed up. When they have been less than perfect. We are not great family. We are family. We accept that in the main. We let that go mostly. We don’t let that get in the way. In fact those moments of sharing are usually the moments of strongest love. Those are moments of family history. The glue that binds ever closer.
Yes there are embarrassing moments. One will squirm. The others will laugh. They are also moments of our family history. Affectionate moments. And then there are occasional moments of great pain. Moments when laughter doesn’t heal. When pain never heals. Not really. And those moments are also nurtured. Those moments are tended tenderly. Those moments are when the glue binds ever tighter.
Sin – the consequences
Did you really intend for us to spend so much time looking for sin? Did you really want us to learn how to find ever smaller and smaller specks of sin? Did you desire that we sift our belly button fluff in disgust? Did you wish that we teach each other how to look for sin, how to label sin, how to categorise sin, how to discern sin in ourselves and each other?
I keep reading these teachings of sin avoidance, sin consequence, sin liability, sin weakness, sin infiltration, sin virus, sin infection, sin default, sin and more sin. And I am beginning to retch.
Love – the consequences
I began my journey loving living and all who lived lovingly. And somewhere I fell flat and found God as a person of living relationship. I was raised again. I was family in spirit and connection. Yet that very connection brought me Sin. My new family taught me Sin. That family reinforced my Sin. That family taught me that I would always Sin. And I accepted they were right. And I fell again.
I am at a point in my journey (my point – my journey) …
Is this what you meant Lord? Is that as good as it gets? Am I wrong to see Love as the place to look? To see joy, kindness, freedom, inclusivity, diversity, bounty, all of those “breathing bits” as You and where you live. To want to breathe Life and love with You. To desire Love and living with You. To see Love as the glue that binds all of us. To see pain as when the glue binds ever tighter?
I look at my Lord and Father …
Am I wrong to retch at all this talk of sin? To retch at this constant search for sin? To recoil from these many teachings of Sin? Am I wrong to have no fear of walking where You guide. No fear of walking with those You draw me towards. To have no fear of saying words You lay on my heart. To have no fear You will bring those who hear You to my door. To have no fear that they will speak for You when I do not hear. To know that they will speak Love not Sin. To know they also seek Love not Sin.
Did I have to be taught Sin in order to reject it? Do we all have to be taught Sin before we find Love? Is that the way it must be? For I see so many who are stuck seeking Sin. Those who never find Love. And that makes me …
I am at a point in my journey …
When Love is what I seek. What I see. What I find. What I desire to find more. That love is what I see in you. And you. And you. A place where Love is my guide. Because sin is now just a distraction to Love. It gets in the way of Love. And I desire each reaches this place. I desire each lives in Love. I desire never to preach Sin.
It gets in the way of Love.
Just me being curious 
What a great post! Yes, sin gets in the way of love… Simplicity itself After all, we find what we are looking for: Brilliant! I think I’d best remember that.
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Hiya Don – He is off and running again. More and more our intimate and trusting fellowship the safety net. So thank you ((hugs))
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Oh, Paul, (( BIG HUGS ))!! I do so wish I was there in person. For so very long, years, decades, talk of sin and hell kept me away from Jesus.
Once I was left alone to form my own relationship with Him, to discover His power in me, His incredible love for me, His unmistakable grace for me, I willingly dropped all the packages of sin I carried, left them where I stood and crossed over the bridge to His side of the river into His open, loving arms.
This is the way it works; we read of it time and time again; we see it and experience it. It boggles my mind when it continue to try it the other way around.
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LOL Susan – next year, God willing! 🙂
Thank you. That crossing over is very personal. I wonder if we encourage it as a corporate production too often.
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Here’s a story they don’t tell. The suicidal people who survived the attempt or couldn’t do it, and then lives to regret. But, of course, the suicide prevention bullies have the power so they censor us.
But any time a person successfully dies of his own will, we are heard.
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Hiya Brain – thank you. No idea what your story is and why this post prompted such a forthright comment – nor who the “bullies” are – what power they have – nor how they censor – nor even who “we” are? So quite a few unknowns in my brain.
Only rules here are love and affectionate respect for all who pass by – care to share?
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Hi Paul, hmmm, so much to consider and I am getting the “love connection”….but to not know sin at all is to not know the love and forgiveness that we need and must have to have a relationship with our Lord and to spend eternity with Him. It is that dark vs. light thing. In order to know light one has to know dark. We cannot appreciate one without the other. Jesus addressed the subject of hell more than heaven. There is something very important in knowing the difference. Grace and mercy. Of course, we are not the judges of sin in others but we are to self-judge our own sins so that we can know that forgiveness is what Jesus is all about. How can we ask for forgiveness if we don’t know what we need forgiveness for, how can we change our lives? It was Jesus who said “your are forgiven, now go and sin no more.” http://www.gotquestions.org/go-and-sin-no-more.html. We are to be set apart, as is taught in the Bible. We have to recognize what sin is in order to make a run from it. We are known by our fruits. To know Jesus is our Savior we are saved from hell….we are “more than conquerors.” Yeah, sin is not a popular subject but it is a necessary one or we will never know that we need a savior. Hugs of love!
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Hiya Dale – we should Skype! 🙂
I think my concern is not “sin” as such – more the constant focus on “sin” and sinning and avoiding sin and being forgiven for sin and asking for forgiveness from sin and more focus on sin and more focus on rooting out sin. Almost to an unhealthy degree. Why?
I will find what I look for. If I look for sin I will find it. But in the process I will not be looking for love. And in not looking for love I will not see/find love. I will find sin. And want to avoid it. And the sinner. And the infection of sin. And not see love very much at all.
So – I understand sin – and I understand I have been forgiven through grace. So why would I want to keep trying to find ever smaller and smaller spots of sin? Instead I find I am focusing on love and find ever and ever smaller spots of love where I thought none existed. In others and me. And that is changing me. I want to “sin less” – I have less interest in sinning – I am less concerned about being infected with sin (because love seems to leave little room for sin to squeeze in). Does that make me perfect? Far from it. But it makes it so much easier to connect – and for others to connect with me.
And I am not sure the bible and I (or you) disagree. How about you?
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