God’s Long Arm and the Blind Man
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
John 5:14
There was a blind man who walked into an American pastor’s church in Ukraine a few years ago. He came forward that night to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
When the pastor prayed for his salvation, he was instantly saved and healed of his blindness! But, as it sometimes goes, temptation was too great for him, and he once again found himself living a life of sin.
As in the story with the cripple Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda, the man was confronted with his return to a life of sin and told he might suffer something worse if he continued.
Realizing the truth of the statement, he returned to this church, where he repented once again, this time with new understanding, and began a new walk with the Lord. God’s righteous right hand had sought him out. Thank God!
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We have a tendency to believe that once we are saved, we should be through with sin. Yes, we have a desire to stop sinning; no, it isn’t automatic. It is a process by which the Holy Spirit guides us into righteousness, which translates to right living, not perfection.
Once we have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, we are clothed in His righteousness and are seen by the Father through Christ. It does not, however, remove our free will by which we make choices. The longer and deeper we walk with God, the closer we get and the less sin-filled life appeals to us. But, as with the blind man, we are still capable of sinning. The danger at this point is that we have already been forgiven our sins. By blatantly disregarding this, we open ourselves up to a more extreme onslaught by the enemy, hence Jesus’ warning to the man at Bethesda.
“God’s arm is not too short that it cannot save.” But sinning is not supposed to be an option, despite the inevitable forgiveness we will receive from our Creator.
Prayer
“Abba, almost all sin feels good for a while. Please lead me into the truth of where that life leads and how it separates me from You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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