Unshooting a Gun

I remember my dad talking about gun safety while I was a youngster and saying “you can’t unshoot a gun”. Trauma surgeons know this all too well…you can take out the bullet, but the damage is already there. Similarly, the nails could be removed after Jesus allowed the Roman soldiers to nail him to the cross…but the holes were still there (Mark 20:25-29). Just because God forgives the sin, doesn’t mean that all the consequences here on Earth go away.

David certainly knew about this after sleeping with Bathsheba and ordering the death of her husband (2nd Samuel 1:2-4, 14-17). God sent His prophet Nathan to tell David a story about a rich man who took the only lamb from a poor man to feed a visiting traveler (2nd Samuel 12:1-5). David became irate at the rich man in the story and said that he should die and repay the poor man 40 times over for his lack of pity! Nathan then told David he was that rich man and calamity would fall upon David’s house…David’s response was to acknowledge his sins against the Lord. God was merciful to David by forgiving his sin and letting him live…but war and family turmoil continued throughout the rest of David’s life.

God loves His people so much that he sent His Son to take away the eternal consequence of sin which is separation from God in hell (John 3:16-21). He also loves His people so much that He wants them to follow His will so they will not have to face the consequences of sin during this life…so we can live life more abundantly (John 10:10)!