Treatment, Not Painkillers!

Hello! 

Just a short post to share a little epiphany :)

Recently, I had suffered a pretty bad back strain and I could not straighten my back. This led to me having issues lying down (which meant pretty bad sleep) as well as some difficulty breathing. After visiting the polyclinic, I was given painkillers, which was not to my surprise. However, I was led to question: "What really is the point of administering painkillers? Why not just get to the root cause and treat the problem?" I suddenly drew a parallel of this to the forgiveness of Jesus.

Some people treat the forgiveness of Jesus as painkillers (myself included). When we feel the pain and the guilt, we are told that if we confess, we will be forgiven and be made righteous by the blood of Jesus. We do so. We confess, we seek forgiveness, we ask God to strengthen us. And then when we feel less guilty and slightly better about ourselves, we make the same mistake again without much consideration. The pain is gone temporarily but it comes back. The problem remains untreated. What I see is a vicious cycle. Is this really the way to go?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyone's like that; well, in fact I don't even know anyone but myself who's like that. After all, we wouldn't possibly know, would we? But the point is clear - the forgiveness of Jesus should be taken seriously with gratefulness and thanksgiving. This is to say, having received grace and mercy from the Lord, we DO NOT make the same mistakes again. Yes, it's easier said than done, I know. However, you are not going through this alone! God is with you! He has already promised to deliver you from sin if you will trust in Him! If you'll choose to abide in Jesus, you WILL overcome sin! 

Brothers and Sisters, the walk with God is undoubtedly one of the toughest walks in life, I will not deny that. But let us also recognize that God is with us in this journey! Let us remember to repay God's forgiveness with repentance and obedience. That's really the least we should do. The forgiveness of Jesus is the cure of sin, not a painkiller! 

If you're feeling the same way as I do, I implore you to renew your commitment to God with me! Let us continue to persevere with an iron will, let us overcome sin once and for all! This, we do by living our renewed lives for God and by abiding in Jesus. Because He lives, we are forgiven! Let us honour this! :)

Lord, I pray that all who read this will find a renewed spirit in following and obeying you. Grant them the strength to overcome their sin, and continue to work in their lives and transform them. Lord, continue to forgive them as they continue to persevere. May they come to know you more each and every day and delight in your glory evermore. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen!

Take care and have a good week ahead!

Matt