What About Repercussions?

Sin is so nasty, not only because it is a transgression against God, but also because it always affects another person. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, "there is no sin so secret that does not act out against the Body of Christ." I believe this.

Again, sin is nasty. It has fingers that reach into the hearts of those we love and care about. And once it sinks in, it rips and tears those hearts apart. Simply put, our sin hurts...and it hurts bad.

Most people understand this. We know that we have done a lot of damage. We have sinned against others and thus permanently altered their lives. In other words, we know and understand that the life of another person is different today because of a sin we committed yesterday.

Parents are perhaps more keenly aware of this reality than most as we see our sins working out in our children's lives. What are we to do? How can we escape and remedy the tragedy that we have initiated in the hearts of others?

We must understand the gospel. We must understand that we CANNOT remedy the pain and hurt that we have caused in others. Sin is an assault against the image of God, and once done, we are immediately in over our heads. We incur a debt we can never repay.

Again, we must understand the gospel. Jesus Christ bore our sins upon the Cross! What was that? He BORE our sins upon the Cross. Why didn't He simply wipe them away? Why didn't He simply say, "Ehh, they don't really matter...I won't remember them any more..." He didn't say that because He knows that sin is more than just a single act committed in time. He knows that sins begin and continue until death.

Again, we must know and understand the gospel! Our Lord is sovereign. He has paid our debt. To those in Christ, our anthem is this: "Christ alone has taken our wrath upon Himself on the Cross! The Father is thus satisfied, and accepts us as sons and daughters! Christ is Risen!"

And we must know the gospel truth that when Christ took our sins upon Himself on the Cross - they were paid for. Not just the act itself, but the repercussions as well. Only the Lord can repair the scars we have made. Only the Christ can heal where we have wounded.

And because we know the gospel, we can go to those we have wounded and let confession and repentance drip off of our tongue - from our wounded hearts. We say, "because of Christ, I understand I have hurt you. Because of Christ, I repent and confess my sins to you. Because of my Lord, I would like to say I am sorry. Please forgive me..."

His goodness leads us to repentance. And repentance, rooted in History, brings healing to those broken places we have made. The Lord who was strong enough, perfect enough, worthy enough, and Divine enough, to forgive our sins, is the same Lord who can also heals the repercussions of those sins.

He is alive Christian. He is working Christian. Is is able Christian. He handles repercussions Christian. Repent therefore and believe in the Gospel of God's grace.