﻿“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

It was just Halloween a few days ago. I’m not going to get into the origins of Halloween or the old pagan ritual debate. All I’m concerned about is my kids having fun dressing up like dalmation puppy dogs and poo emojis. They did, however, get a lot of good candy that mommy and daddy will “help” them with.

One of my daughters did complain about it though. She said that she was happy to have the candy, but the happiness didn’t last. The candy would be gone and she would be waiting until next year to get more candy. That got us talking about how sin acts just the same in our lives.

Sin starts off like a roller coaster ride or a scary movie. It gives that quick shot of adrenaline that perks us up, but then afterwards we can’t wait for the next rush. Once wasn’t enough. Like the potato chip commercial says, once you pop, you can’t stop. Flirting with that cute guy or woman at work boosts your ego for a time, but then you want it more and more until before you know it, you’re in the sack with that person and you find your job and marriage fall apart because of it.

Or maybe your thing is drugs. You start off with a couple of joints here and there just to take the edge off. Before too long, you get into maybe some crystal meth because the easy stuff just wasn’t cutting it anymore. A little bit just isn’t enough, because after a while it ceased to be a rush.

The Bible says that sin is fun for a season, but it’s a path that leads straight to death. Let’s face it, if sin wasn’t fun, nobody would be doing it. But it is fun sometimes. Doing bad sometimes feels so good, but it never lasts. It always leaves you either feeling like you can’t wait to have more, or it leaves you feeling remorseful and sunken down. That’s why they call it a rush. It’s quick and powerful, but it doesn’t last.

One thing that does last is love. True love gets you feeling up in the clouds and there’s no love that picks you up like the love of Jesus Christ. That’s one high I’ve been on for many years now and it’s something that I can wait to get someone else into. Even on my bad days, I still get picked up by God’s eternal love for me.

I told a man that Jesus loves him, to which he replied, “Not after the things I’ve said and done.” I said, “He saw those things, and He knows you need His love now more than ever.” When we are at our lowest, nobody may be able to reach us, but God’s arms are plenty long enough to pull us up out of whatever gutter we may have fallen into. Nothing is beyond God’s reach and outside of His knowledge. He saw what you did and even what you will do, and He loves you anyway. He loves you enough that He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die on a cross to pay for your sins. He paid that price freely so that you can be with Him in Heaven for all of eternity one day. All you need to do is admit you are a sinner and accept that free gift from Him.

I haven’t led the best of lives either. I know I took some wrong turns here and there because of the rush and enticement of sin, but I also know that I have my Heavenly Father on my side through thick and thin. At my worst times, I can still turn to Him for love and support. Jesus’ arms are stretched out wide enough on that cross to hold me and all of my sins at once.

God promised in the Bible that He will never leave us or forsake us. He will gladly leave the 99 good sheep to come get that one bad sheep, because He believes in us and loves us so much. We run away because we see greener pastures, but we quickly discover the deceit of sin. That’s when we need Jesus the most and that is precisely when we will find His hand outstretched for us to take ahold of. That rush of doing bad has and will always leave us feeling low, but here is Jesus Christ’s loving arms to pick us up and hold us tight.

Forgiveness and love is waiting for you. It is God’s gift to you and I. It’s not trick, just the greatest treat you could ever ask for and it’s a love that lasts forever.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

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