Thought #9 Do you want better days?

Renato Cardoso's Blog

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Thought #9 — Do you want better days? Posted: 17 Jun 2014 08:13 PM PDT Part of the “40 Thoughts of Jesus” series - know more about it. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. — John 5.14 Jesus said this to a lame man He healed from an illness that lasted for 38 years. What could be worse than spending 38 years of your life crawling around, literally? Bear in mind that at that time there were no wheelchairs or motorized devices for disabled persons like we have today. This thought of Jesus reveals two important things to us: 1. Sinning makes bad things happen to us. To sin means to miss the target—to miss it, instead of hitting it. Every time you miss the target, you waste time and energy; you miss opportunities and may even cause problems for you and for others. Behind every sorrow, there is a mistake you or someone else made. And God has nothing to do with it. 2. Worse than making a mistake is making it twice. We all make mistakes, but some people decide to use common sense and stop making them. To continue doing what only makes you and others suffer is stupidity. You may have made a lot of mistakes up until now, but you can decide to be different from now on. It is your right and your decision. Now, going back to the question, what could be worse than spending 38 years of your life crawling around? Jesus was referring to a life of mistakes that would culminate in a person missing the main target: eternal life. A lifetime of suffering here on earth is nothing compared to eternal suffering for those who will miss the biggest target of all. Application: Stop making mistakes. Learn from them and decide to do things differently.Ask for God’s help if it’s difficult to change. Do you use the phrase “nobody is perfect” as an excuse for you to continue making mistakes? Have you ever wondered how much pain your mistakes have caused yourself and others? Are you sure you will hit the target of eternal life if you die today? Leave your comments.   P.S. Has the challenge of the 40 Thoughts of Jesus helped you? How about inviting someone to join you? There’s still time… Lift someone up today! Invite them to take up this challenge—share this post with them.