Wednesday, July 18, 2023
Once we become a Christian, we immediately become a child of God, and part of His family forever. There is nothing we can do to make Him kick us out. We belong to Him forever, and He accepts us exactly the way we are. We can never be enough, but Jesus was enough for us. He paid our admission into eternal life and even when we mess up, we are still His and still have a place with our name on it.
Even though we are never disowned, there are earthly consequences we have to pay when we make choices that don’t align to God’s will. God forgives us and loves us no matter what, but in our sin we destroy marriages, families, careers, and friendships, and many times never get them back. Even if we don’t lose them completely, they are never the same again.
David was tempted and fell hard. While he was on his rooftop one evening he saw a beautiful woman bathing. When asking about her he discovered it was the wife of one of his own soldiers, Uriah the Hittite. Even though she was married, David summoned her to his palace and slept with her. Later she turned up pregnant and David panicked. He called her husband to his palace under the guise of asking for a report on the battle and then sent him home, hoping that he would sleep with his wife and that would make it look like the baby she was carrying was his. But Uriah was faithful to his king and refused to enjoy time with his wife while his men were still out fighting a battle. So he stayed in the servant’s quarters of the palace.
David realized he was not going to be able to cover up his sin, so he sent Uriah to the front lines of battle and commanded his military leader, Joab, to fall back, leaving Uriah to be killed in battle. After mourning, Bathsheba married David and gave birth to their son. It seems like everything has worked out for David. No one, besides Joab, is the wiser for what their king had done, and Bathsheba and David are happily married. Except for one thing - God was displeased, and David was miserable inside.
But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. 2 Samuel 11:27
God knew what David had done and was displeased with Him. The Lord sent the prophet, Nathan, to confront David using a parable. David was angered by the story Nathan told him of rich man taking a poor man’s sheep and killing it, even though he had many flocks of his own. David, having been a shepherd, was impacted deeply by the story and told Nathan that the rich man who stole and killed the sheep should die. Nathan then told David that he was the rich man in the story and that judgement would be on his house. David repented and his relationship with God was restored but the consequences remained. His child did die a week later, and his household experienced much hardship, including the death of three more sons.
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless,
because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child
who is born to you shall die.” 2 Samuel 12:13-14
David paid consequences for his sins, but it didn’t disqualify him from the salvation he already had accepted. Sin does not disqualify us from the Eternal Family Reunion, but it interferes with our relationship with God and others. The cost can be heavy and many times we don’t weigh the cost until it is too late. We jump right in without thinking about the end result when tempted with sin. We may think we are hiding in our sin, but it always has a way of coming out. Regardless, God always knows.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing
spirit, to sustain me. Psalms 51:12
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:1-5
Even if we do hide our sin from others, it eats away at our heart from the inside out. We will never know peace and the fulfillment of the abundant life God desires for us as long as we carry hidden sin in our hearts or continue in sinful actions. While David had unconfessed sin in his heart, he was miserable and defeated. He had lost the joy of his salvation.
God longs for us to bring our sin to Him, confess and repent. Repentance means that we literally turn away or quit sinning. That is how the joy of salvation is restored. God may be displeased with us, the way He was with David, but He never stops loving us and He always invites us back in. However, just like with David, consequences for us remain.
What unconfessed sin are you carrying because you are afraid that you have gone too far, and God doesn’t want you now? The enemy wants us to believe that but it is not true. God will always restore the joy of salvation to us when we confess and repent. He never stops pursuing us and He never stops loving us. He wants the best for us always, no matter what we have done. He is waiting on us with open arms, and we will never know a sweeter feeling than returning to our Heavenly Father. Salvation is great the first time around, but the joy of salvation restored is an even deeper joy than before, and it is forever our right as His child to have the joy of salvation restored if we are willing to confess and repent. Go back - don’t wait another day to go home where you belong.
