Come between us

 Come Between Us

Do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

EPHESIANS 4.30

Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.

ISAIAH 59.1-2

What happens when a child disobeys his or her parents? Does it mean that the parents disown the child or kick him or her out of the house? Of course not! They’re family. But there is a breakdown in their relationship. The disobedience has to be dealt with in order to get rid of the uncomfortable distance and invisible barrier that has come between them.

It is similar when we, as believers, disobey God. When we sin, we still have a place in God’s family, and we’re secure in his love. But our sin causes him deep sadness. It puts up a barrier between him and us until we admit we were wrong and then change our attitudes and actions.

But if there is no sense of loss or sadness over sin, and no desire to make things right with God again after a person sins, it should be a huge wake-up call. It indicates that there may be no real, saving relationship there at all. It might be easy to brush off our own sins or other people’s sins as no big deal. But when a person sins and keeps sinning with no sadness about that sin — no tug toward change — there is definitely something broken in the person’s relationship with God. Or perhaps there is no real relationship with him at all, just some form of being religious.

When you sin and you are pained by the distance your sin has brought between you and God, thank him for that pain. It is a sign to you of your saving relationship with him. And if you feel no sense of loss when your sin comes between you and God, perhaps you need to ask God to show you what it means to truly have him as your Father.