If you were to be a guest in my house any time in the past few weeks and made a trip to the restroom, you would laugh. Or, if you're a mom, you'd simply smile and nod to yourself with a “yep, been there, done that/doing that.” Why? Because we always...ALWAYS...have at least one pair of little girl pants and underwear hanging on a towel rack somewhere, drying after being washed out from a potty accident. It's our go-to hand towel. Just kidding. But truly, it's a daily occurrence. Our three-year-old is fully potty-trained but she still has accidents, and we're ok with that. She's learning how to be responsible for her own self and that always entails mistakes.
It got me thinking. Today at our women's Bible study, there was one particular Bible verse that struck a chord with me. Romans 8:1&2 says, “therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” No condemnation. What an immeasurable blessing. No matter how many times we mess up; no matter how many accidents we have or how many mistakes we make, no matter how many times we give in to temptation and commit sin, God is standing ready to forgive us when we ask. Prov. 24:16 is a verse I've always appreciated. It says in part, “though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again...” God has given us the freedom to confess our sins to Him without fear of condemnation and He willingly restores us each time, when we allow Him to do so. He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. That's great news, because even though I'm saved, I'm in no way perfect. Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I am in Christ Jesus. I have been since I was twelve years old. Doesn't mean I'm perfect. It means I am free. Not free to sin as I wish and continually receive forgiveness just so I can go sin again; no, I'm free to not be a slave to sin. I can choose to believe that Christ is enough and can give me victory over that which entangles me.
What does that have to do with hanging drawers in the bathroom? My daughter is imperfect. Even though she's potty trained, sometimes she forgets to go to the bathroom. Even though I'm a child of the King, sometimes I forget to pray. Sometimes she tries but doesn't make it on time because she was too busy playing. Sometimes I don't leave myself enough minutes in the day to spend quality time with the Lord because I'm too busy doing other “stuff.” Sometimes she's outright rebellious and pees her pants because she chose to. Sometimes I make a conscious decision to watch a morally questionable TV show, choosing not to care about the effect it might have on my heart and mind. I fail. My daughter fails. But she is still my daughter and she always will be. I will always love her. No amount of disobedience, mistakes, or potty accidents will ever make me stop loving her. And I patiently (or sometimes impatiently, since I'm not God) wash out her clothing and hang it up to dry, and put her in clean clothes. I make mistakes every day and fall into sin regularly. But God said He would not condemn me. And I can take great comfort in knowing that He said that nothing would separate me from His love. I am his child and will always be His child and just as I continue to dress my daughter in fresh clothing each time she has an accident, He continues to give me new mercy each day and a fresh start, no matter how dirty or foul-smelling my sin may have been. He keep forgiving and keeps renewing. Salvation itself is a one-time thing but forgiveness and repentance are ongoing. Until we get to heaven, where there will be no more sin, we will still be plagued by it. But just as my daughter is not going to perpetually have potty accidents (I'm fairly certain that by the time she's 21, this will have resolved itself!), which means she is not enslaved to this behavior, neither are we enslaved to sin.
I wonder how many pairs of “hanging drawers” we would have, were it not for God's instantaneous forgiveness and mercy? I shudder to imagine. Thank God I don't have to.
It got me thinking. Today at our women's Bible study, there was one particular Bible verse that struck a chord with me. Romans 8:1&2 says, “therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” No condemnation. What an immeasurable blessing. No matter how many times we mess up; no matter how many accidents we have or how many mistakes we make, no matter how many times we give in to temptation and commit sin, God is standing ready to forgive us when we ask. Prov. 24:16 is a verse I've always appreciated. It says in part, “though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again...” God has given us the freedom to confess our sins to Him without fear of condemnation and He willingly restores us each time, when we allow Him to do so. He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. That's great news, because even though I'm saved, I'm in no way perfect. Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I am in Christ Jesus. I have been since I was twelve years old. Doesn't mean I'm perfect. It means I am free. Not free to sin as I wish and continually receive forgiveness just so I can go sin again; no, I'm free to not be a slave to sin. I can choose to believe that Christ is enough and can give me victory over that which entangles me.
What does that have to do with hanging drawers in the bathroom? My daughter is imperfect. Even though she's potty trained, sometimes she forgets to go to the bathroom. Even though I'm a child of the King, sometimes I forget to pray. Sometimes she tries but doesn't make it on time because she was too busy playing. Sometimes I don't leave myself enough minutes in the day to spend quality time with the Lord because I'm too busy doing other “stuff.” Sometimes she's outright rebellious and pees her pants because she chose to. Sometimes I make a conscious decision to watch a morally questionable TV show, choosing not to care about the effect it might have on my heart and mind. I fail. My daughter fails. But she is still my daughter and she always will be. I will always love her. No amount of disobedience, mistakes, or potty accidents will ever make me stop loving her. And I patiently (or sometimes impatiently, since I'm not God) wash out her clothing and hang it up to dry, and put her in clean clothes. I make mistakes every day and fall into sin regularly. But God said He would not condemn me. And I can take great comfort in knowing that He said that nothing would separate me from His love. I am his child and will always be His child and just as I continue to dress my daughter in fresh clothing each time she has an accident, He continues to give me new mercy each day and a fresh start, no matter how dirty or foul-smelling my sin may have been. He keep forgiving and keeps renewing. Salvation itself is a one-time thing but forgiveness and repentance are ongoing. Until we get to heaven, where there will be no more sin, we will still be plagued by it. But just as my daughter is not going to perpetually have potty accidents (I'm fairly certain that by the time she's 21, this will have resolved itself!), which means she is not enslaved to this behavior, neither are we enslaved to sin.
I wonder how many pairs of “hanging drawers” we would have, were it not for God's instantaneous forgiveness and mercy? I shudder to imagine. Thank God I don't have to.
