40 Stinks...But Has Some Good Lessons!

I feel like such a turkey (which is what I am holding in this picture).


I turned 40 on December 22, 2009. I received a notice from the DMV a few months ago as a reminder to renew my driver's license before December 22, 2009.


I remembered that I was supposed to renew my driver's license by December 22, 2009 LAST NIGHT as I was driving to UVA in Charlottesville.


I have been driving illegally since December 22, 2009. But when I didn't realize it, I had no guilt about it. I had been told what I needed to do and for whatever reason, I put the notice aside and FORGOT ABOUT IT.


Now that it has been brought to my attention (by my feeble mind), I know I cannot drive until the situation is rectified. I went online and found out I need a birth certificate to get my driver's license reinstated. Well, guess what, I don't have one of those, either! I had to order one from Richmond and it will be here sometime next week. So I'm depending on others until then.



This morning, I thought about how this very situation can relate to sin in our lives. Notice before I said that I had no guilt about driving until I "realized" my license had expired. I "knew" it needed to be renewed, and I "knew" that if I didn't get it done, I'd have a mess to deal with. But for whatever reason, I pushed it aside and chose not to deal with it. And I forgot.



Sin can be thought of the same way - God has given us His "notice" in the form of His Word, The Holy Bible. We "know" what we should and should not do, but for whatever reason, we decide to push it aside and we "forget". But sooner or later, God pushes that part of our hearts, and we "realize"that we are doing something wrong. And the repentance begins...



I always have to remember that there are consequences for our sin - choices we make have repercussions that we have to deal with. God forgives and refreshes our hearts, but we still have things we have to deal with from making bad decisions. In my situation, my repercussions are: I can't drive until I get my license renewed; I can't get my license renewed until I get my birth certificate; and I can't get that until next week (and never mind it cost me sixty bucks!).



My heart rejoices this morning for Jesus Christ, God's gift to us so that we don't have to pay the price for sin, which is Hell and Death. I love Him, I believe Him, and when my time on earth is done, I will go to spend eternity in His presence in Heaven. And I hope I don't have to have a driver's license there!




It's just what's on my mind this morning!