the purpose of sin

Thought I would share a little something with you all that the Lord
gave me today, I hope you will find it encouraging!

I was wrestling with the Lord this morning, asking Him the purpose of
sin (particularly in the life of a believer), and I feel like He gave
me two clear answers:

1. to give us humble hearts of compassion for those who don't know the
Lord (and our brothers and sisters who do).

If even those of us who have been walking with the Lord for decades or
who have been dwelling in the Truth for a seemingly long time are
utterly incapable of going a day without sinning, how can we look down
on others who don't know the Truth in self-righteousness and expect
them not to sin?

The fact is, we are all human, and we will continue to sin and hurt
each other until the return of Christ. This is not a
get-out-of-jail-free card or a license to sin, but a fact that should
keep us humble, compassionate, forgiving, and repentant.

2. to make us ever-increasingly aware of our total dependance upon God
and ever-increasingly grateful for His abounding love and limitless
forgiveness.

Why would our Good, Creator God allow His children to keep sinning
against their God and hurting each other? Why doesn't He just sanctify
us instantly?

He wants us daily dependent on Him; not so that He can play
puppet-master with our lives, or demand our groveling submission, but
to give us a correct view of who He is and of who we are.

The truth is, if we were sinless upon conversion, we wouldn't need
Jesus - we'd all be our own little demi-gods without need of the
atoning work of the blood of Christ. And then, like Lucifer (and Adam
& Eve), we'd throw off the fatherhood of God and declare ourselves
righteous and holy. Our Father is wise, He knows us, and He knows what
is best for us!

The purpose of our sin is not to keep us hiding in shame and
condemnation, but to help us walk in the grateful freedom of
forgiveness, knowing that we could never modify our behavior or
control our sinful natures enough to save ourselves, yet we have the
FREE gift of life and forgiveness in Jesus Christ our Lord! What a
Mighty God we serve!

Praying for each of you, He meets us where we're at.

<3

Cindy