Consequences

You know what I wish someone would have told me when I was younger?

The Lord will protect you from the punishment for sin, but not the consequence of it.

You probably remember the story of a pastor who after taking a single beautiful rose and holding it up in front of his congregation for all to see, handed it to someone in the front row to pass it around.

By the end of the sermon, the rose came back to him all weather and ruined; a metaphor for the beauty of a virgin ruined.

"Who wants this flower now?" he asked.

All were silent.

"Jesus does!" he cried out in a chastising tone.

Yes, Jesus wants it.

But the cold hard truth that always get's missed by those who over spiritualize everything, is that no one else wants it.

It's all used up, and I'm tired of pretending that it isn't.

You see, you make your bed and you lie in it.

You reap what you sow.

Jesus loves her, but the virgin is worth more.

Jesus loves all nations of all people, but your nation will only function if it's full of YOUR people.

Jesus calls us to love our enemies, but he doesn't call us to get on our knees and present out throats to them.

The list goes on.

There are real life consequences for what you do in this life, and I am done with the pulpit acting like the only thing that matters is some abstract spiritual concept.

The Lord will protect you from the punishment for sin, but not the consequence of it.

Why?

Because you learn more lessons in losing than you do winning.

You are made acutely aware of your need for a savior at rock bottom.

You finally realize Jesus is all you need when Jesus is all you have.

You realize the precepts God put forth in his word regarding sexuality, family life, virtues, nationhood, all that - are there to protect you from pain, not to prevent you from joy.

Now don't get me wrong, the Lord can and will redeem what was lost.

I have seen it in my own life.

But he won't spare you from the consequence because He loves you and there's a refinement of your soul in that hardship that's going to make you look more like Christ.

If I've learned anything in my walk with the Lord, it's that you never ever fail a test with Him - you just retake it over and over again until you pass.

If we start teaching our children that there are very real consequences to disobeying His word, then we just might spare them the pain of those consequence and instead instill in them a childlike faith in the way He has called us to walk.

Be blessed today, brothers.