I hated being spanked as a child. Sometimes, if I had done something worthy of a spanking, I would lie to prolong my "comfort," which would only reveal it's real identity- guilt- in a very short time. My rebelliousness and the lie that followed would grow heavier and heavier. If I was eluding a spanking for a short time, guilt and fear would fester itself in the pit of my stomach. There was no rest for my body or my mind. Eventually, either out of confession or Mom and Dad finding out the truth, I was punished- swiftly and sufficiently. Afterward, my backside was sore, but that subsided, along with my heavy burden of guilt.
Psalm 107:17-18 says that Israel suffered affliction from their sins, so much that they "loathed food."
The weight of sin, one could conclude, is much like physical pain. Pain was created to let us know if there is something physically wrong. Is there a cavity? A tumor? A discomfort in the stomach? Without pain, our teeth would be lost, our organs would be rotted out by cancer, and our stomachs would be eaten by ulcers. Pain drives us to seek relief- to reveal the insurgent to one who knows how to remove it.
The weight of my sin, when I was little and also now, drives me (either immediately or eventually) to repentance. The pain or affliction that I experience during my rebellion is nothing less than a gift. Just this afternoon, I was searching the scripture to address something with which I am struggling. After seeing a passage that I've seen a million times over (and probably have memorized since I was about nine years old!), I was reminded that the Word is sharper than a two-edged sword, judging the attitudes of the heart. I was cut to the quick- swiftly and sufficiently.
"My chains fell off,
My heart was free,
I rose, went forth and followed Thee."
"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be HEALING TO YOUR FLESH AND REFRESHMENT TO YOUR BONES." (Proverbs 3:7-8, emphasis mine)
This is the continual process of sanctification, thanks be to God.
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4 comments:
thanks; a good insight worth remembering... I needed to hear it.
indirectly referred via Stephen Baker
I'm a member of Grace Fellowship Church in Hazleton which the Bakers attended before moving (back) to Indiana. Stephen taught me Bible for a year or so at the Christian school and later became one of the elders here. I guess he's a mentor of sorts for me...
not bad for a girl with white chicken planks
love,
dad
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks alot for leaving my a nice commment on my site. I sure enjoyed reading your blog here. I think my blog idea is a bit of diarhea (using your terminology :))and a bit of deep thinking. I enjoyed the blog about your dad and Congrats for being a newlywed, May the Lord bless your marriage.
In Christ, Maria
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