Spelling Test Fail, Sass, and Consequences

I failed a spelling test, had to not play BB

When I was a kid I failed a spelling test. My dad was pretty upset with me for it and said I would not be able to play baseball for a week.  I was so excited!  I hated playing baseball!  Not only did I not like playing I was horrible at it.  I didn't like the thought of a hard object flying through the air for my head.  All the kids who lack the necessary talent to play are always put in right field and pray no one hits the ball over there....that's where they put me.  I enjoyed spinning in circles, daydreaming, and building things out of grass more than I liked baseball.  Occasionally I would work on my fake karate moves which were super impressive in my mind.

Then the bad news came, I still had to go to the game.  I had to sit in the bleachers and watch my team play baseball.  I still to this day can't sit and enjoy a game of baseball, it's just too slow.

During the game we went up to the concession stand to get some dinner.  I always got the same thing which was a chicken sandwich with nothing on it.  A bun and a chicken patty stuck right between the two was perfect.  The guy who usually worked the stand called it a naked chicken sandwich and when I walked up he said "Hey Tim, you want your usual naked chicken sandwich".  Sure I did, but I decided I wanted to have a little sass.  So, my reply to the man was "Yeah, I want my "nekkid"(remember I'm from Alabama) chicken sandwich" I then sassily turned to my dad and said, "N-E-K-K-I-D, nekkid!" There wasn't any amount of crying out to Jesus I could have done to have saved me from the whoopin' I received.  I had to live with the consequence of my actions.

1 John 1:9 reads  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

God does cleanse us, He forgives us, and He loves us unconditionally!  However, many people confuse God's grace and believe God will give us a pass on sin!  That's a big misunderstanding about God's grace!  God is also a good father and like any good father would do God doesn't give us a pass on sin.  When we sin we usually have to live with the consequences.  When we sin we have to learn from it, we have to be refined by it.  Perhaps we sinned against another person and irreparably broken trust with that person or we abuse drugs, alcohol, or food and to irreparable damage to our bodies or we harbor hate and resentment towards another person which numbs us to future empathy with others.  Also other people's sin may have consequences on our lives.  A person lies or gossips about us and our reputation is tarnished for a lifetime, someone physically abuses us, or we are judged whether we are to be respected by our dress or looks. 

While we are promised present suffering this life, not suffering brought on us by God but always

brought on by sin, we also have a present and future hope.  Sometimes God does deliver us from the consequences of sin and sometimes God allows us to suffer through those consequences all the while carrying our burden for us.  We know we have a God who works out all things for our good!  We also have a future hope!  When we pass this life we will pass before God and be welcomed through the gates of heaven or Jesus will one day return and set everything right right here on earth!

All this hope is made possible because Jesus paid our penalty with His death and gave us the hope because of His resurrection!  God doesn't give us a pass on sin and we will probably suffer the present consequences but as believers we have a present and future hope!  Think about that this week we as you go about your week and strive to live for God's glory alone!