We All Have Scars: “Good News”
By Vic Dove
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7
I read this quote the other day, “Nobody can go back and start a New Beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new Ending.”
For the believer who lives with the scars of poor decisions in the past, Paul’s words in Galatians 6:7 may seem rather harsh. We might want to say to the Apostle Paul, I thought I was forgiven of all my bad choices when I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and Paul would say you were.
In spite of what the world and prosperity preachers might try to tell us, we are accountable for our choices and consequences and scarscome with the choices.
So many believers experience tension because they live daily with the scars of past sins after accepting Christ as Savior. Mistakenly, they thought or hoped or were told that once they accepted Christ as Savior, God would miraculously erase the scars. With the daily evidence that God has not taken away the scars, many believers mistakenly conclude that God has not or even worse cannot forgive them. If God’s Word is true, they surmise, if He really loved me and truly forgave me, surely He would not allow me to suffer with this constant reminder of my past.
What we all need to understand is that consequences are circumstantial, not relational. The man who drank for so many years and develops cirrhosis of the liver knows that his disease has a direct link to his drinking. He knows, even though he may deny the truth, that as a result of his drinking he is experiencing the negative effects of drinking. The woman who gave into the temptation to have an affair with a co-worker knows in her heart that her ruined marriage is a consequence of her choice to sow to her sinful nature. It is a result of the circumstances that occurred within the choice she made that ruined the marriage.
If we can begin to understand the importance of both forgiveness and consequences, we can begin to get past our problems with the reality that even though God, if He chooses to, can remove the scars of our past sins; although, He often chooses not to. As much as we argue about fairness and grace, we know as we allow God to renew our minds that each is a principle in line with His grace. Thank God that He understands and doesn’t make things too easy for us. If there were no scars or consequences to sin, as the world tries to tell us, where would we be,headed for trouble and more bad choices most likely.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Bro. Vic
