Coming to Your Senses!

Coming to your senses is not just a trite expression, but is fundamental to every choice we make. Every choice we make has positive or negative consequences or a combination of both. The passing of time usually reveals the wisdom or foolishness of our choices. Every person makes a vast number of choices every day. Most of the choices we make are meaningless or of little significance such as where we park our car, what we have for breakfast, what we wear, the route we take to work, etc.

Then we have very serious choices such as marriage, career, living location, medical choices, finances, and children to name a few. Making the wrong choice in these areas can be devastating and alter the course of your life, which is why coming to your senses is so important. When shopping at the supermarket, it’s of little consequence whether you start in the dairy section, the produce department, or the meat department.

The Penalty of Sin

Based on the severity of the choice there should be some form of serious analysis regarding the option you choose. In other words, we must evaluate the negative consequences of our choice in relation to any positive outcome expected. Wisdom dictates that it’s best to do this analysis prior to choosing an option, but, failing that, it’s vital to do it afterward.

Needless to say, every choice we make has some degree of risk associated with it. If I consider robbing a bank, I know the risk factor. If I never get caught, the consequence is a life of ease for as long as the stolen money lasts. If I get caught, not only do I forfeit the life of ease, I also forfeit my freedom by going to prison.

I was speaking with a prison psychologist one day and asked her opinion as to why, knowing the consequences, people still commit crimes. Her answer was very insightful; “Most inmates are unwilling or unable to defer satisfaction to the appropriate time or forgo it altogether.”

I would only add that the psychologist’s assessment applies to the entire human race, not just those incarcerated. It’s foundational to our sinful nature and is identified Biblically as lust. Nothing illustrates this more than Jesus’ parable about the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.

Assurance of Heaven

You’re likely familiar with the story. A rich man had two sons and the younger one requested his inheritance.  So, the father divided his estate between the sons. The younger one takes his possessions and travels to a distant land, where he “squandered his estate with loose living” (verse 13). The Greek word for “loose” in “loose living” is asōtōs, which translates in English to “riotous”, “wasteful”, “profligate.” A synonym for “profligate” is “prodigal.”

The narrative continues and we’re informed that famine struck the distant land, and all the son’s money was spent. He obtained a job tending pigs and longed to eat even the pig’s food but was not allowed.

The next words we hear regarding the destitute son are these: “When he came to his senses (verse 17).” Some translations state, “When he came to himself.” The meaning is pretty much the same in either translation. In today’s vernacular, we might say, “He had a wake-up call.”

It’s an understatement to any mature person that the younger son made a woefully bad choice in requesting his inheritance prematurely and then squandering it quickly in riotous living. However, the good news is that he came to his senses. This suggests that his analysis of the consequences of his initial choice revealed that he made a senseless decision.

The central point of this parable is salvation by grace. We learn that after he came to his senses, the son adopted a reasonable plan for going forward: “How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!  ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.’”

Now we see that the son had learned much from his poor choice and is using this new information to make a much better choice going forward. There are still some irreversible consequences from his senseless choice (loss of his inheritance), but there is a positive way forward for him. The son was humbled and was content with taking a lower position in life than he had before he received the inheritance. This is a beautiful illustration of true repentance.

The good news is that the son will be received by the father in a manner far greater than that which he expected or deserved: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.‘”

Paying for Sins

As you can see the message of the parable is that our Father in Heaven will welcome us too, by grace, when we humble ourselves, confess we are hopeless sinners, realize we are unworthy candidates for His grace and mercy and are willing to meet Him on His terms. Every person has to make this choice. The consequences could not be worse if the wrong choice is made. If the right choice is made, regardless of how much we may have already squandered our life in rebellion against Him, we will be welcomed as His children with all the benefits thereof. Scripture tells us that the angels rejoice in Heaven every time a person makes this sensible choice.

The option we choose determines the outcome we receive. Simply put, we too must come to our senses and approach the Father in Heaven empty of all self-righteousness and every thought that our efforts will be the justification for winning His favor Paying for Sins. We can only receive His favor (forgiveness of sins and eternal life) based on the grace extended to us by Him and through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, on the cross of Calvary.

This is the most important choice you will ever make Paying for Sins. Choosing to reject the Father’s grace and not meet Him on His terms, will result in the most catastrophic and irreversible of consequences for all eternity.

The natural tendency in life is to opt for instant gratification by tasting all the world has to offer and rejecting God’s call to defer satisfaction based on the satisfaction He offers. The world makes no room for God and the incomparable satisfaction He has for those who choose His way.

Paying for Sins – Choosing Heaven

Ignoring or outright rejecting God’s free gift of salvation is senseless. Come to your senses now and taste all that God has in store for you now and throughout eternity.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

If you enjoyed this blog, you might like this article.

Be sure to forward this blog to someone that needs to know God’s revelation of Himself!