Sprinkles, Sprinkle Everywhere!

     Last week, while our three grandchildren came for a visit, we made a very large batch of frosted Christmas cookies.  This has been a tradition in our household and something I did with my own mother growing up.  I believe we had a total of 69 cookies by the time we finished our work and today while sweeping, I discovered not only did we decorate the cookies, but we also covered a lot of ground throughout our house too.  I found sprinkles on the floor.  I found sprinkles behind a door.  They were in the laundry room, and even, the bathroom.  This is beginning to sound like a Dr. Suess story, but you would be amazed how far those little fellows traveled in my house.  Little did I know we had made such a big mess, but we did have a good time.
 
   While I was vacuuming, the thought occurred to me that those ever spreading sprinkles on my floor are not unlike what happens when we commit a sin.  We think that no one else is affected by what we do in secret.  Yet when we violate God's Law, not only does He see this, but the ripple effect spreads to include those around us.  A good example of this is the sin of adultery.  We know the story of David and Bathsheba.  Their one night stand ultimately led to the scheme of killing Bathsheba's husband in order to free her to marry the King and legitimize her pregnancy.  After all was said and done, the baby died, the King's family was torn with strife from that point on, and David's sin was revealed by the prophet Nathan. This is precisely why God lays out boundaries for us in this life that we might not have to face consequences like this.
     Jesus used the example of leaven which causes bread to rise.  In Luke 12:1-2, He said:  "1Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2“But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3“Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops."  Here Jesus is pointing out that often the Pharisees laid heavy burdens on the people in terms of rules to live by.  However, they did not always keep them in their own lives.  This hypocrisy would be revealed in due time causing others to stumble.  There is no sin that will not be exposed at some point whether it is lying, cheating, stealing or some other offense.  We may think no one will ever find out, but just like the sprinkles on my cookies, it can spread everywhere.
     Even little white lies can lead to big problems.  A friend may ask our opinion of something they just purchased.  Instead of being honest and telling them kindly that it would not be our style, we may lie and say it is lovely not wanting to hurt their feelings.  If they discover our true feelings later on, it may cause them to doubt our opinion in the future.  We have just put a dent into our friendship which did not need to be there.
     In God's eyes, all sin is is unacceptable.  He is perfectly holy and cannot tolerate it.  However, He provided the remedy by giving us His Son to bear our sins on the cross.  What comforts me most is that through Him, we are set free.  We no longer have to live in bondage to messy sin.  We are free to choose holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit in us.  Even when we do sin, we can quickly mend our relationship with God through repentance (1 John 1:9).
     Baking those cookies was fun and decorating them made them all the more delicious.  Our intent was to keep all the sprinkles on the cookies, but in reality, they ended up in every nook and cranny.  Sin is just as messy and can permeate every area of our lives.  Yet we have an advocate in Jesus Christ who carried our penalty to the cross.  If we trust in Him, He will clean us up and make us new inside.  Let us take time to think before we act...to look before we leap...and consider if our actions will bring glory to God or serve to hurt others by our sin.  May we consider this carefully.  Selah!