A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post titled ‘Lights Off‘. It was about God wanting to get our attention. Well, God is more gentle than us, as is always the case.  Some days after that incident, my kids were playing football in their room, despite being repeatedly told not to. You will probably not be surprised to hear that somehow in the process of the game, the football was magically drawn to their lightbulb. Aaaaaaand voila! A shattering sound permeated the air, together with complete darkness.

I won’t bore you with the details of what happened after, including their reactions, but I can tell you that cleaning up glass in a torchlit room is not fun.

The following day, as I was praying, my blog post, ‘Lights Off’, came to mind in the context of what had just happened. Following the theme and context of the last blog, I thought I would write about the other side of this ‘coin’. Sometimes, when the lights are turned off or the light bulb is shattered, it is not God trying to get our attention or teach us something. As tough as it may be to hear, it can be due to our own disobedience. Because sin has both direct and indirect consequences for us. A child can disobey their parent who asks them not to touch a hot pan, and consequently suffer a burn. Would we say that the parent punished the child or agree that it was a direct consequence? A person who consistently tells lies, despite being cautioned, may gradually realise that nobody trusts them, and consequently people don’t want to associate or have dealings with them anymore. Again, a natural consequence. When God tells us to follow path X, but we choose to follow path Y and meet destruction and darkness on the way, can we then blame God for what we encountered along path Y?

As such, what happens when we are the ones who shatter our own lights? When it’s not a question of God trying to get our attention, but the lights are off simply because of the natural consequences of our actions? As I was reflecting on this, I realised that God’s approach is very gentle compared to ours. Like switching off a lightbulb versus shattering the light bulb. In 2 Samuel 24:14 (NLT), David recognised this when, following his wrongdoing, he had the chance to choose a consequence: famine, falling into the hands of his enemies, or falling into the hands of God. David said “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

God corrects us because He loves us and delights in us, His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and He is gentle and humble (Proverbs 3:11-12, Matthew 11:29-30, 2 Corinthians 10:1). God is a God of mercy. Psalm 145:8-9 (ISV) notes that “Gracious and merciful is the Lord, slow to become angry, and overflowing with gracious love. The Lord is good to everyone and his mercies extend to everything he does.”

Does that mean that as God’s children we can do what we like and escape the direct or indirect, intended or unintended consequences of our actions? Not really. Many parents will have examples of their children having to endure the consequences of their actions. Seeing the pain in their faces, and yet knowing that one of the worst things you can do is to take the consequence away, even if it is within your power to do so. Why? Because a child that grows up not understanding that actions have consequences, a child that does not experience such consequences to cement that understanding, a child that cannot see that vital link between both, is a dangerous adult in the making. Isaiah 26:10 (NIV) notes that “But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the LORD.”

Furthermore, even though David assessed that falling into God’s hands was the most merciful option, Hebrews 10:31 (KJV) reminds us that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” I remember seeing a meme some years ago with the following conversation:
Person A: Only God can judge me.
Person B: That should scare you!

Galatians 6:7 says “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant” NLT. And in the Amplified version, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap.”

However, God’s judgement is laced with mercy and He may bear the consequences for us or give us the grace to do so. I swept up the broken glass myself. As much as I would have wanted my children to learn to clean up their own mess, due to their ages, they were not capable of doing so without possibly causing more harm. Jesus dying for our sins is a perfect example of God bearing the consequences of our sin for us. Romans 5:6-8 (NCV) says “When we were unable to help ourselves, at the right time, Christ died for us, although we were living against God. Very few people will die to save the life of someone else. Although perhaps for a good person someone might possibly die. But God shows His great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.”

Sin is like a foul stench to God (Isaiah 65:5). It is like walking into an area where the air is heavily polluted and it is a struggle to even breathe. All you want to do is cover your nostrils and leave as quickly as possible. However, this is where God’s love shines. Rather than leaving us in the polluted mess that we created in the first place, what does God do? He sends His Son, His very self, to suck up all the polluted air, suffering the associated consequences. He takes on the contaminated, life-destroying air, just so that we can have fresh, life-giving air. What an act of mercy!

Nevertheless, the consequences of our sin don’t necessarily disappear into thin air. To continue the bulb analogy, when the bulb was shattered, it was beyond repair. However, I could get a new one (and I did), but there was a cost – a period of darkness, and the price of the new one. A biblical example of someone having to endure the consequence of their sin is in 2 Samuel 11-12. David had sinned greatly by sleeping with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and then orchestrating Uriah’s death. God, being a just God, could not simply turn a blind eye to that, even though He loved David and called him a man after His heart. Despite David’s praying, fasting, laying on the floor before God all night, putting on sackcloth, David and Bathsheba sadly lost the son that was conceived as a result of their affair. Was David genuinely sorry and repentant? Yes he was. Psalm 51 lays his heart bare. Still, David suffered for his sin. But, God gave David the grace to bear the loss, and David in turn was able to comfort Bathsheba. God also restored.

How do we therefore respond when we have shattered our own lightbulbs? Do we try in vain to remedy the situation on our own? Do we wallow in our sorrow feeling sorry for ourselves (Worldly sorrow)? Or do we repent and ask God for mercy (Godly sorrow)? Sometimes we might need a good shake before we realise the need to do so, but if it results in genuine repentance, it is worth it. Paul had to write a severe letter to the Church at Corinth, and it worked. He said “Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.” (2 Corinthians 7:8-11a, NIV). The prodigal son also suffered the consequences of his actions. He wallowed for a bit, but eventually made up his mind to come back home, and what a heart-warming, lavish welcome he received! (Luke 15:11-32). It was worth every sorrowful step he made to reunite with his father.

I pray that if we are in a position where we have shattered our own light bulbs, we will remember that our God is rich in mercy. May this knowledge inspire us to humble ourselves, ask God for mercy, and genuinely repent – to turn our faces to God and our backs to sin… to cross that bridge which Jesus has provided, allowing us to be reunited with God. God has promised that if we do so, He will hear us, forgive us, heal us and make us whole again. He is not waiting for us with arms ready to whip us, but with arms ready to embrace us. Wouldn’t it be just wonderful to receive a welcoming hug from our Heavenly Father?  A Father who loves us with an everlasting love, whose glorious light is far brighter and more powerful than any light we may have lost from our shattered light bulb. A God who is Light Himself, The Light of the world, as John 8:12 tells us. If we follow Him, not only will we never walk in darkness again, we will never walk alone.

Image source here.