Is There Life After Sin?

Is there life after sin? Can God ever use us again? Are we even worthy to work for Him after we’ve made horrendous mistakes? The answer is yes, yes and yes. In fact, God chose those who were sinners to accomplish His work. He chose murderers, thieves, harlots and adulterers and used them for great things. Why would He do that? Why would God choose such sinners to accomplish His will? I think the answer is humility.

There is nothing more humbling than finding ourselves face down after a terrible fall.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV)

We have no choice but to go to our Father and ask for forgiveness. We have no hope except in His redemption. We know our only way out is through the loving heart of our God. And so we go to Him in anguish asking for help.

Our sin reminds us of our need. It reminds us of our inability to produce a right heart. It reminds us that we need a Savior. This is where God can use us. He can use us when we are willing to let Him lead. He will use us when we admit our weaknesses.

When I was twenty-four years old, I moved twelve hundred miles away from my family. I packed up my little Honda Civic and moved in with a friend. I had met her a year before while on vacation. I loved Florida and decided to make it my home. I have never regretted it.  

When I arrived, my roommate shared her story. She told me she had moved to Tennessee, gotten a good job and started dating someone. Things went sour when she found herself pregnant. She immediately ended the relationship, not wanting to marry the man. Her church asked her to leave because she was active with the youth group. She had set a bad example and instead of ministering to her, they rejected her. She was heartbroken and ashamed, but she knew she needed to make the right decision for her baby.

After moving back in with her mother, she had a decision to make. Some told her to raise the baby herself (she already had one little girl). Others told her to get rid of the baby (have an abortion). She was distraught with so many “well-meaning” people advising her. And so she prayed. She fell face down before the Lord and asked Him what to do. She felt compelled to find a Christian couple anxious to have a baby of their own. She opted for adoption. After choosing the right couple, she went by herself to another state and waited until the baby was born. She walked away from that baby willing the other couple to raise her as their own.

A month or two later, I moved in with her. She told me of the events over the prior year. She was broken, humiliated and ashamed. But she was also forgiven. Her story is one of redemption. Within a month, I became a Christian. The Lord didn’t cast her aside as useless. He used her to save a soul.

Is there life after sin? Oh yes, my friend, there is abundant life after sin. There is new life after sin. There is freedom and forgiveness and joy after sin. I want to shout Hallelujah!!!!

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• Something Beyond Us (brokenbelievers.com)