I woke up this morning to a sweet kiss goodbye from my husband and went back to sleep for about half an hour. When I awoke, I grabbed a cup of chai, did some picture editing, and was about to start Facebook-ing when my Phoebe woke up. "Aaaaand.... GO!" She wanted breakfast and I was about to start boiling the water for the oatmeal when I heard the "Bubs" coo-ing in his crib. Yay- double duty! Stephen is not as patient as Phoebe is for breakfast so I was somewhat surprised that he was as happy as he was. I went in and the stench hit me. *whoah* Nothing like that could be a good thing, right? But he was so happy! Coo-ing up a storm and doing a few ga-ga's. I figure, he's been in this diaper for the whole night (unless my husband changed in the middle of the night without me knowing). But he's soooo calm and... well happy. I pick him up, place him on the changing table, and open up his sleep sack. To my horror (gasp!) there's poop EVERYWHERE! I just couldn't understand how this one little person could 1) have that much poop and 2) be so happy in the midst of it. Needless to say, this amount of poop couldn't be cleaned by a few wipees. No- this mess had to have a bath X's two.
So as I strip my precious angel of his soiled sleep sack and clothing I think to myself... "Isn't this like sin?" The first time it happens, we're screaming on the inside telling ourselves how awful this is. Sin to a human is as natural as pooping, right? We're born in it and we're born to do it. Of course our little conscience tells us that it's wrong (that's the grace of God by the way). We feel uncomfortable and we feel "dirty". Sin is disgusting, though it feels good to "let it out". If we stay in it long enough, we get used to it- we can be "happy" with it. I'm not saying this to promote staying in sin to be happy because true happiness can't be found there. No- I'm saying there's a loving Father who is willing to clean you up and make you smell all nice and clean... so you can enjoy living without being constantly surrounded by the stench and yuck of sin.
The thing is, when it comes to sin, you gotta be willing to be cleaned. God's willing to clean you up and make you new, but unlike Stephen, you have to give it all to God. God's not going to fight you to get you clean. He's not going to force you to take a bath (like I did Stephen). Let's be a bit more serious here. Christ left the glory of Heaven- the beauty and the splendor of His place as Lord of the universe. He wasn't constrained by growing old or physical pain... He had everything and then some! He chose to leave all that behind, to cloth Himself in skin and bones, to hunger and thirst, and age. He was still completely God, but was completely human- He was tempted as we are, but DID NOT sin. He said, "I love you and I don't want you to be apart from me." Being holy and just and righteous meant that God in His perfection could not look at sin or be in the presence of it. The punishment for one sin, just one, is eternity in Hell... THAT's how serious sin is to God. So Christ took the punishment of not just one sin, nor just one person's sin, but EVERYONE's sin so that we could have the gift of living forever in Heaven with Him! Christ died on the cross so that this gift would be available to those who want it and He rose again to give us a hope that is beyond anything the world can give and constant communication with the Maker of the Universe (you can't really talk to someone who's dead, right?). God's not going to force it on you- that's not real love. Real love GIVES a gift, but the loved one has to receive it.
Sin is an ugly thing... it stinks and has consequences far greater than what a little bath can take care of. Sin is a serious matter because that's the only thing that sends a person to Hell. When you confess (tell God that you agree with Him that sin is wrong) and ask for His forgiveness for every sin- He is more than willing to forgive you and make you clean! In fact, the bible says that the angels in Heaven have a party when someone believes and gives their life over to God! If you want to be cleaned up, really cleaned up- the bible says that Christ is the ONLY way, He is the TRUTH, and He is the LIFE! We are made new and will have a choice not to sin! If you want that new life- you've gotta go to God and say "I realize what Christ did for me- He took my place, He paid for my sins. I want to be new in You. Help me." And if you want to know more or just ask a question, feel free to comment. :-)
And to believe- all this started with one comfortable blowout in a sleepsack from my precious little 8 month old son. Thank you Lord, for bringing my focus on Your grace and love for me through a dirty situation. P.S.- I must add that Stephen is very clean once again and is freshly diapered and playing with his older sister Phoebe happily. :-) Everyone have a blessed day!
No comments:
Post a Comment