We hear today that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. Why do you suppose that is? I'm sure there is a deep, spiritual, metaphysical reason that is too deep for my little human brain to fathom. But there is ALSO a reason that I can grasp... and it is this: our actions have consequences. Serious ones.
Could God just take away our sins without it costing suffering and pain? Yes, he could. But He doesn't, because He wants us to know that what we choose to do, with our free will in this life He's given us, matters. It doesn't all just get washed aside in some big flood of redemption that God throws on the world. What we do, each day, each moment of our lives, has consequences. If we choose to sin, if we live our lives selfishly and look out for number 1 above all else, it hurts others, and it hurts us too.
But that's not the biggest lesson of "our actions have consequences". No, the bigger lesson (as with all lessons) is a positive one. Our actions have consequences - good ones. When you choose to bless someone instead of cursing them, you change their life. When you turn the other cheek, you take that evil, that violence, out of the world. Instead of giving it back to the person with your hate added, you take the hate and violence out of circulation - like taking a dollar bill out of circulation, not to be passed around anymore.
When we give a cup of cold water to someone who is thirsty, we won't lose our reward. Because our actions have consequences.
What actions will you choose today?
God, thank You for making our lives truly matter.
1 comment:
Very well stated.
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