We visited the local Red Lobster restaurant for a special occasion a while back, and we met a man who was sitting by the lobster tank in the waiting area. He had prosthetic hooks for hands. My older daughter was 8 or 9 years old and innocently asked me about the man's hooks. I asked the man if it was okay if she asked him about them, and he graciously explained that he'd gotten his hands stuck in a machine, and the machine had mangled his hands. They had to be amputated, and now he has hooks for hands. He's grateful that he has the hooks, but would rather have his hands back.
In life, we often make mistakes that damage our bodies. How many people have lamented their poor choices that resulted in damaged or missing body parts. I knew a man who was trying to clear the grass from his mower . . . while it was still running, and his thumb soon communicated the fact that the blade was in motion. My dad was working on a machine that had a chain & sprockets, and he 'bumped' the motor to advance the chain; a few minutes later, he was driving himself to the hospital missing a fingertip. I have countless scars on my body from being careless and making mistakes, but no missing body parts yet.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a way to undo the damage we do to our bodies? We cut off our hands in a machine, and they are restored. A foot gets mangled in farm equipment, and it's made whole again. We smoke 6 packs a day, get lung cancer, and our lungs are turned from blackish-gray to pink, and we can breathe again. For the most part, that kind of redemption doesn't exist. But, I imagine we just might be a little more careless if it did exist. Why not take more chances knowing the consequences are reversible.
In life, we often make mistakes that damage our souls, too. We call it making 'poor choices' or 'mistakes'. It boils down to 'sin', of course. But, unlike the damage we do to our bodies, our souls are constantly being restored by the grace of God. But, that endless grace, which was purchased by the sacrifice of the Savior, should not inspire us to be a little more careless. Paul wrote against that sort of thinking. We can't assume that we can sin as much as we want because we are saved by Jesus.
Instead, we should be overflowing with gratitude for the gift of redemption, and that means living our lives in such a way as to honor the one that made our souls whole again, and purchased our way into the presence of God.
