“Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.”
Solomon’s typical style of writing is usually contrasting the wise and the foolish of some kind of godly action and a wicked alternative. This verse was refreshing to study because it tells us of two good truths. Don’t you love the offer of sin forgiven. I sure do. I kind of got excited as I read this verse and was reminded that yesterdays sin really could be washed away through the promise of mercy and the power of truth brought solidly into our reality through the death and resurrection of the redeemer. What a gift. I am also grateful that as we get a closer and more reverent look at God we strive to avoid that sin out of the respect and love that God inspires in His children. This verse is such an upbeat, encouraging promise from God. It’s good news and here is why we so desperately need this truth today: “But if the world is watching, we might as well tell the truth. And the truth is, the church doesn’t offer a cure. It doesn’t offer a quick fix. The church offers death and resurrection. The church offers the messy, inconvenient, gut-wrenching, never-ending work of healing and reconciliation. The church offers grace. Anything else we try to peddle is snake oil. It’s not the real thing.” — Rachel Held Evans. Today live in His grace and truth and be healed and be a healer. #BeTheEdge
“We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14b NIV
