I had a friend tell many years ago that I could do anything I wanted to as long as I was willing to live with the consequences, good or bad. There are good consequences as well as bad. They are all relative to the decisions and choices I make. For me a problem I have is I don’t think about the consequences all the time. Nor do I always think about what I’m going to say and do. Then there’s the fact that my actions and consequences affect not only me but they affect those around me as well.
Where I’m going with this is that while I was sick in the hospital I took the time to reflect over my life and have came to a conclusion that all my life’s choices didn’t cause all my medical problems. Especially knowing that they started out genetically as hereditary. But the fact that I chose to drink and consume drugs most of my life didn’t help matters any, and I will own that. See most of my life I drank and lived as if there were no tomorrow without a care in the world, not thinking there would come a time when I will need a good immune system and what major organs I have will need to function correctly. This infection that hospitalized me 6 weeks ago has been an ongoing infection and all the strong long term antibiotics is what eventually shut down my kidneys. But in a real time sense the choice to live the life style that I chose for most of my life and not taking good care of my self hadn’t helped my health any either. I know how does this all tie in to a life as a follower of Christ. That’s a good question.
In the Bible there were/are consequences for not obeying Gods commands and there are consequences for sin. God doesn’t and hasn’t changed and there are still consequences for sin and disobedience. Consequences may vary and they may not be immediate, but that doesn’t mean I have escaped any them. The one thing as a believer that I escape is eternal death caused by sin and this can not be earned by any way. Eternal life is only a gift of God. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ, and Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus or Lord.
I know there might be a disconnect in relating all of this together, but some might be able to. God loves all mankind and doesn’t want anyone to perish, but the consequence for sin is death. However the consequence for disobedience is discipline and sometimes the discipline is God pruning me or molding me to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. As for some of my long term consequences, I consider them like a thorn. They keep me focused on seeking the Lord.
© Copyright By Bart Hickey, All Rights Reserved, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014
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