Saturday, March 4, 2006
Proverbs 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
DON'T BE STUPID
Many people believe that God's law sucks all the fun right out of life. But the this couldn't be farther from the truth. God doesn't tell us how to live so that he can keep us from enjoying life, God tells us how to live so that we will be blessed in this life. When obeyed, God's laws keep us from hurting others and ourselves.
The God who made flowers smell pleasant, sunsets glow and birds sing is not a God who dislikes happiness. When God attempts to correct us with His law, His intention is to lead us to blessing and happiness. When we wriggle away from God's guiding hand because we think we know the way to happiness better than He does, we deserve to have "stupid" tattooed right on our foreheads. In wriggling away from God's hand, we are wriggling away from the source of all good things!
The Bible teaches that the most important thing that God's law does is show us that we are sinners. God's law "shows our sin" so that God's Gospel can "show our Savior". But when we refuse the discipline of God's law and insist on gazing lovingly (or at least excusingly) at our sin, then it's impossible for us to see our Savior. Un-repentance keeps us from the greatest blessing that God's hand gives -- forgiveness of sins.
If we were to lose out on eternal communion with our Creator God because we loved sin more than God's discipline that would be undeniably stupid!
Instead, we accept the discipline of our loving Father in heaven. We repent of our sins, and watch as the floodgates of His love wash over us.
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
