Living Rightly In The Game Of Life

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away." - Psalm 1:1-4

I love Psalm 1. It is a simple reminder of the things I should avoid as a travel through this life and the things I should do as a child of God. Do you like to be reminded of your failures? Not those times when you did your best, but you failed.  Those times when you chose poorly. You made a decision that did not reflect who you are in Christ. I know I certainly don't. Never did and never will! Just as soon talk about something else. If I am honest, it pains my heart when I think about it. 

Oh, if only Life was like the game of solitaire. You know, you get to a point in the game where there are no more moves. The cards you need are face down and you can't get to them. So, you just reshuffle and play again. The last game forgotten. Like it never happened. But life is not like that, is it? 

In the Game of life, we don't get to reshuffle the deck. And we don't get to pretend that what just happened, didn't happen. Oh, we can pretend that it didn't happen. Like the ostrich, we can put our head in the sand and not look. But that does not mean we will escape the consequences. That the lion will not eat us! Unconfessed sin can be ignored but it also can be debilitating. It will affect our relationships. Relationships with both God and man.

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." - 1 John 1:5-10

Listen - I know this is a tough "read". We don't like to think about the times we have missed the mark. When we sin, we miss the mark that God has placed on the target of life and relationships, with Him and with others. We can't undo the fault or sin by simply reshuffling the deck, but we can confess and repent. God's forgiveness is certain because He sees the heart and knows whether our confession and repentance are sincere. For people, you may not find forgiveness comes so easily. Trust is an easy thing to lose and a hard thing to win back. With people, you might be forgiven but you will have to prove that you have indeed repented. They can't see your heart like God does. They don't know if you are sincere and can be trusted. That takes time - a promise is not enough.

"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." - Romans 12:18

If that is you today then my encouragement is to get your heart right with God and seek forgiveness from others.  Be prepared to live with the consequences if the Lord chooses not to remove them. If someone chooses to not forgive you - well that is a consequence of sin and living in the world. Just know that God does forgive you. Keep your eyes and hope fixed on Him.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone