Same Song, Second Verse - or was it Third?

Well, here we are again. Sitting down for a quiet evening together, just the two of us, since Avari is in bed (I've got my fingers crossed that she'll stay there). Like I said, a nice, relaxing evening together - no, not my husband and I. I sent him to do the grocery shopping this evening. I figured it was a fair trade since I mowed the yard this morning. I'm talking about you and me. I thought we could spend a little time discussing a topic close to my heart - relationship. Oh, I know, I talk about it a lot. It really borders on obsession, but in a good way, I think. Hang in there though, I think you'll like this one.

I'm not sure how you grew up in the faith. From the time I was a newborn Jesus-lover (Please excuse me for not using the term Christian - we'll get into my reasons for that in another post), I was raised to think that if you stuck your pinkie toe out of line, you better repent fast, or you could die suddenly and go to hell. I'm serious - no, really, quit laughing, it's not funny. There is a whole segment of our brothers and sisters our there who believe that very thing.

When I started driving, I lived in fear that I would get in a car wreck, curse by accident, and then die. I was sure if it happened and I didn't have time to repent before I stepped up to the pearly gates, I would be sent suddenly southward into a pit of fire and brimstone courtesy of St. Pete's secret trapdoor for sinners. I grew up thinking that my life as lived for Christ up to the point of death counted for nothing if I committed the slightest sin prior to "meeting my Maker."

In order to save myself from hellfire and damnation, I "rededicated" my life to Jesus every time there was an altar call. I thought I had lost my salvation each time I sinned. Now, I am not going to get into the whole issue of once saved, always saved. I have said before that I am not and do not claim to be a theologian. I will say this, I don't think you can lose your salvation like you lose your keys. You'd have to be working pretty hard at it to misplace it.

That said, we, as Papa's children, need to realize that we do not have to "rededicate" ourselves every time we sin. We should repent, we should ask for forgiveness, we should turn away from the sin, intent on not succumbing to it again. We do not, however, need to start all over.

Aha, now we're getting to the heart of the matter. We tend to think to ourselves, "Oh, man, I managed to mess up again. Now, I'll have to start from the beginning so I can get it right." God is screaming - No, No, No! That would be like getting remarried every time you get into a fight with your spouse. Wow, that would get expensive. Let's see, I've been married 10 years, so that would add up to . . . wow, yeah, very expensive.

Wait, an even better example is this: Say you are going on a cross-country road trip. You know your starting point, you can see your destination on the map, but you do not have the complete route marked out yet. It's like using one of those nifty navigational systems that give you step-by-step directions. So, you begin your journey, and you do your best to follow the directions as they are given, but let's face it, sometimes, you make a wrong turn. I don't know about you, but if I'm 700 miles from home, and I miss an exit, I am SO not driving 700 miles back to where I started just to retrace my steps all over again, especially with gas at $4.00/gallon. I'm going to get that computer to tell me the quickest way to get back on track.

Father desires us to do the same in our journey with Him. He has no desire for us to start all over. That's like saying His work up to that point was worthless, and He should start from scratch. He also gets no satisfaction out of our wallowing in guilt and condemnation. Those two treats are gift-wrapped curses from the enemy. When we stumble and fall, as we are all wont to do at times, He wants us to turn, repent and continue on.

So, next time you make a wrong turn on this journey, please refrain from going back to the beginning. Turn your ear to Papa, so He can give you directions to the quickest way back to where He wants you to be.

Blessings!