Even Little Injuries Can Cause Great Pain
Paper cuts are the worst! Who would have thought that such a thin slice on the skin could cause such pain and agony? Yesterday, I was the recipient of one such injury. As I opened the mail, one of the envelopes sliced the tender flesh between my thumb and index finger. At first, it stung, but as the day wore on, especially after loading up a haul of firewood, it began to ache and actually bruise. The crazy thing is barely visible, yet every time I touch it (or it touches something else), I nearly jump out of my skin. Insane, huh?
But as I examine my nearly invisible injury, I wonder how often I wound my Savior with my "little things." A white lie here. An omission of prayer there. A bad thought or stinky attitude. Sins that we would consider minor in the grand scheme of things. After all, it's not like I murdered someone or committed some other heinous crime. Sure, it was a premeditated act that I willfully committed, but it's not really that big of a deal. Or is it?
As I thought about my painful little paper cut this morning, I realized that even the "little things" must cause Jesus pain. After all, He died for my little sins just as much as He died for those two thieves hanging on either side of them. There is no scale in Heaven that weighs out the pain or penalty for sin. The weight is the same no matter the sin, and unfortunately, so is the price. But what I often fail to realize is that, just because Jesus paid for my sin, it doesn't mean He doesn't still feel the pain of those nails every time I fail Him. And my "little" sins hurt Him just as much as someone else's "big" sins.
The truth is, there is no such thing as big or little sin. Sin is sin, period. And even though Jesus has paid the ultimate price and forgiven us of our sins (if you're saved, of course), our willful rebellion is still hurtful to Him. It pains Him when we go off our own way and do things that we know we shouldn't. Yes, He still loves us, but His heart is grieved, and that pain is very real, just as the pain of a paper cut. In our eyes, the wound may not seem deep, but if you think about it, those nails pierced all the way through Jesus' hands and feet. It would seem that the wound caused by our "little sins" went a lot deeper than we care to think about.
Jesus knows we're not perfect, and He understands that we will fall. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't still hurt Him. You know, ever since getting that paper cut yesterday, I've been careful around other things with piercing edges (including paper). Perhaps now that I have this new insight on how much my "little" sin wounds my Savior, I'll be a little more careful about avoiding those things I know I shouldn't do. If nothing else, I know my effort will make my Father proud.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Romans 6:23