ConsiderThe Cost Of Forgiveness

Hosea 4:2-4 - By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.   Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven;  yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.   Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another:  for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

 

Hosea’s words from God were a list of the many sins that had broken the covenant the Israelites had made with God.  The lies…idol worship…lack of compassion and kindness….failure to study the Bible…killing ….stealing ….swearing…and adultery… spoke volumes to God.  Hosea had to deliver God’s words of judgment because of their sins.  He said the land was dying…because the people had chosen to turn their back on God.

 

He might as well have been speaking to us today….the list of sins might even be expanded.  We have gotten to the point where we do what we want….thinking that forgiveness is always there if we wander too far away.  In some cases…we justify what we are doing as no sin at all.

 

We forget that God’s forgiveness comes at a high price for someone. There are consequences to everything we choose to do….some of those we never see. Children suffer the choice of divorce and adultery.  Families suffer at the hands of drunk drivers whose choices leave someone’s loved one dead.  Drugs play havoc with families and the communities that must deal with the violence and crime people commit to support their habits. AND….Even if we don’t consider the cost of our sin on the others around us…we should at least consider the suffering of Christ. 

 

It is a reminder to me to consider all those affected by my choices each day. It is a reminder to me to always seek God’s direction and guidance so that my choices are always within his prefect will for my life.  I wonder… if Adam and Eve had thought about how the consequences of their wrong choice would affect their family’s future before they ate that fruit… would it have given them a bit more power to put it down and tell that serpent his advice was crazy?

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that my choices are always to be within the rules and commands you left for us to follow.  Forgive me for the times that I have made decisions without thinking about the consequences to others.  Help me to consider your perfect will in everything that I do…so others will be blessed by my decisions…not hurt.  Amen.