Our God Who Pursues: Guiding Us Back to HimНамуна

Week 2: Trusting God Wholeheartedly

Sin Leaks

Read: Jonah 1:4-16

SOAP: Jonah 1:12

"He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that the sea will calm down for you, because I know it’s my fault you are in this severe storm.”

Into the Text

In science class, we once learned Newton’s third law of motion, which states that “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” While this theory explains how in the physical world an object moves when hit by another object, it can be applied to the unseen world, or our sin, and its consequences.

Sin is anything we think, say, or do that is not pleasing or honoring to God. Our sin separates us from God and makes us deserving of death in light of God’s holiness. Though we may sin against someone else or on our own, our sin is ultimately against God.

However, sin leaks. The effects of sin almost always trickle out and impact those around us. It may not be evident at first, but it does happen. If you have developed a habit of embellishing the truth when speaking, eventually, others will not trust what you have to say. Sin always impacts others.

There are also consequences to sin. Some are apparent right away, like with Jonah. Other times, the consequences of sin can be delayed until later in life or until Jesus returns and reveals everything that has been hidden.

Because Jonah intentionally disobeyed God’s call to go to Nineveh, God sent a storm. But this storm impacted more than just Jonah. It placed the other sailors on the ship in grave danger. Though this storm was sent as a consequence of Jonah’s sin in order to bring him back to God, He used this storm to show the sailors who the One True God is.

Sin is deceitful. We easily think that it is not that bad or that others will not know. Don’t be deceived. Sin is pervasive. But forgiveness can be found in the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. All that is required is faith.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for offering forgiveness for my sins. Help me to take an inventory of my life and see where sin is blinding me and impacting my relationship with you and with others. Help me to repent and seek reconciliation where needed. Amen.