Galatians 6:7+8
‘Do not be deceived:
God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. V8 Whoever sows to please their
flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit,
from the Spirit will reap eternal life.’
This is one of those verses that is inclined to make you
think about all the wrong things you have done and quite possibly cringe! For a
start, how many of us managed to remain in a virtuous state before marriage?
Very, very few I imagine. How often have we coveted other people’s possessions,
been greedy and so on? Not too good when you stop to think about it.
I will add, we are made in God’s image and we know for a
fact how angry He became throughout the Old Testament. We also know that Jesus
had a temper, even if He did only display righteous anger and it is almost
impossible to imagine that He didn’t have lustful thoughts from time to time
too!
My understanding is that God knows we are sinners and reminds
us on many occasions but at the same time He has given us a way to
redemption. We are not expected to be perfect but we are expected to try and
honour Him and steer clear from temptation, hence the Lord’s Prayer. Possibly the term ‘mocking’ refers to those
things that we do quite intentionally, maybe during times when we feel far from
his love. It is the way in which we live our lives and whether we seek His
forgiveness that really counts. You can’t just do something and say, ‘Sorry
God.’ That definitely is making a mockery of forgiveness.
It might be helpful to think about the fact that God made us
with all our strengths and weaknesses, therefore He understands us at all times
and knows how to help if we ask Him. Prayer helps, so does focusing on the good
in ourselves which can encourage us to feel stronger; particularly knowing we have the
power to say no. I also think that if we go down the wrong road in life and are
later truly sorry we can be forgiven.
The choice is quite straight forward, the question is, when
are we actually ready to act upon this information and make the changes that
might be required? Over to you!
Jaz McKenzie
If you would like to share your thoughts with us on any Bible verses please send to itsbraap@live.co.uk
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