Cucumber, Mustard, Sin, And Forgiveness

Have you ever made a decision you thought was going to be really great, but in the end it turned out to be a complete disaster?

Let me tell you a story. A couple weeks ago, I was at Costco.  It was a Saturday.  This is not the bad decision part yet.  They had their free sample stations out in full force, and I was in a good mood.   A woman with an actual (not Acadian) French accent asked me if I would like to try Dijon mustard on top of a slice of cucumber.  I thought, these two things taste fine on their own, maybe Costco is onto something.  So I tried it without much hesitation. I immediately regretted my decision.  The combination of the cucumber and mustard together tasted pretty horrible.  It reminded me of how God must feel when we  sin. For the record, I’m not saying that eating cucumbers and mustard is a sin.  That’s just an imperfect metaphor.

For us, sin may look like something fun, new, and exciting at first.  In Hebrews 12:1  Paul says that sin can easily entangle us.  But God knows how these things turn out before we do.  Fortunately for us, He never leaves us on our own.  When we are tempted, there is always a way out, if we’re willing to look for it.  In this case, I should have noticed that there was way too much mustard on that cucumber, but alas, I didn’t care.

In spite of this, forgiveness, that I did not deserve, came to me as I found the chocolate free samples.  I could still taste the consequences of eating the mustard and cucumber, but it went a long way toward making things better.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 NIV

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