Consequences

My father was of the opinion that it was just as important to have a clean car as clean shoes. Although very busy at work and in church life he always managed to make time to keep his car clean (and this before the days of automatic car washes)! Whether he was right or not this routine did give me opportunities to earn extra pocket money!

Unfortunately, fifty years later, as much as I would like to regularly keep our car clean, I find I don’t have the time or the weather isn’t suitable! But a few weeks ago I did manage to give the car a much needed wash to remove the grime and salt it had collected during a typical January in Scotland.

As I stood back and admired a bright shining vehicle I remembered something which only I as the driver was aware of. If I sat behind the wheel and turned on the engine, a little green light would start flashing at me. It had been showing for several days and indicated that there had been a mal-function of a component or system of the engine. The actual fault had cleared but the lamp continued to flash. It was a constant reminder that there had been a problem. The flashing light was a consequence of that problem

To the observer the car looked clean and in perfect order, and to a certain extent that was true, but to the driver there was still the evidence that something had been wrong.

That can so often be the case with us can’t it? Those who only see our lives from the outside are not always aware of those things within us which are the consequences of what has happened in our lives in the past, either due to our own faults or those of others. These faults may well have been dealt with. We’ve brought them to the cross of Jesus when we accepted Him as Saviour and the forgiveness He offers, but the consequences of them may still remain - guilt, shame, rejection, hurt, pain, injustice, and broken relationships. There are many such things from the past which can cause us dis-ease in the present. They all need to be brought to the cross for healing. Jesus not only died to save us from our sins but to heal us from the consequences of those sins. He wants us to acknowledge them and bring them to Him so that we may fully enjoy the wholeness of the new life He came to bring us.

The Psalmist declares ‘He forgives ALL my sins and heals ALL my dis-eases’ (Psalm 103:3).

What a great God we have!

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to recognise that the pain, the dis-ease I sometimes feel now, could be the consequence of my past experiences. Help me to bring it You, so the healing You made available at the cross may be applied to my situation and I may enjoy the wholeness of life You have for me. Amen.