The wages of sin is death.  – Romans 6:23

This past Friday I woke up really tired and really not feeling the whole getting out of bed and heading to work thing.  I kept going back to sleep.  When I finally actually got up, I had to rush.  Honestly, I haven’t had to do that in a while.  I hurried through my Bible reading.  I haven’t done that in a while either.  It was so hurried that I really didn’t remember a thing I had read.  Afterwards, I didn’t think about what I had read, nor did I pray.

On the way to work, I was driving pretty fast.  In a single moment, I don’t know if it was God or just my sense of knowing better, but I took a deep breath and slowed everything down.  I prayed.  Since I basically blew off that morning’s reading, I started going through all the scriptures that I have memorized.  I was saying Psalm 119:11, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”  As I thought of that, I thought of how I had just rushed past God this morning.  I thought of the opportunity I had missed.  I simply said, “I’m sorry, Lord, would you forgive . . .”  BAM!  This bird flew out of nowhere, slammed into my windshield, and scared me half to death.  I looked in the rearview mirror and it seemed to hit the ground so softly.  I hated the fact that I had just killed that bird.

“Lord, what was that?  That bird literally hit me on the word forgive?”

“Adam, don’t ever forget what it takes to be forgiven.”

I just drove on to work in stunned silence.

As the day went on, I thought of that bird.  Its life had just ended.  I felt sorry for the bird.  Then, I thought of how awesome that bird’s life was.  That bird directly pointed to Jesus on the cross giving His life for all who would come to Him and receive eternal life.  Oh, how I want my life to do the same!  For the rest of the day, I thought about what it really takes to be forgiven.  I saw my Lord on the cross so many times in my mind that day.

It may be hard to believe and hard to understand, but that is what it takes.  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I guess sin just makes us forget.