October 24—A Pearl for Today
“… and you may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23).
BE SURE YOUR SINS WILL FIND YOU IN THE OUTHOUSE
My older sister Ardith led me astray one day. Actually, I am not sure which one of us first had the idea of taking a jar of canned sauerkraut from the cellar. Both of us enjoyed eating the stolen kraut, for a little while. We ate and we ate and we ate. I am here to testify that there is a lot of sauerkraut in a quart jar, especially for two young girls. Since we were raised not to waste any food, we ate the entire jar. (Of course we were also raised not to steal—a lesson that momentarily escaped us.)
After eating the sauerkraut we quietly put the jar in the cellar where our step-mom kept the empty jars for next year’s canning. We got away with our theft, or so we thought.
Let me see how to say this delicately. Our sin found us out all right. Out in the outhouse! All night Ardith and I fought for the rights to the outhouse! We were two sick little girls.
Because of God’s patience, we, as God’s children, think we get away with sin. But as God warns us in Numbers 32, “your sin will find you out.” Unlike our earthly parents, our heavenly Father is omniscient. As Adam and Eve quickly discovered, we cannot hide or deceive Him. “[God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness” (Heb. 12:10).
We try to hide from God or cover our sin. Learn from Adam and Eve. It took a blood sacrifice in Genesis 3 to cover their transgressions. It takes the blood of Christ to wash away our sin.
Ask for His cleansing; there still may be consequences, but they will seem easier to bear. Christ took the brunt on the cross.
Don’t try to run from God. Read Psalm 139:7-12. Remember Jonah. Choose to obey. Our son-in-law Mark, a pastor, used this outline when teaching on Jonah: “God said ‘Go’; Jonah said, ‘No’; God said, ‘Oh!’”
God is worthy of our obedience. There are no secrets from God.
