Water Poured Out

This Sunday our Youth Pastor brought the sermon. He brought out a scripture that I have never heard before, but one that I think I will never forget. 2 Samuel 14:14 I can't believe I have never seen this before. (There's so much in there, if we just keep digging, we will keep finding.) He used the New Living Translation (You know Youth pastors) When you read it in the other translations, it is the same, only the words used there really bring it to heart.
2 Samuel 14:14 "All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. That is why God tries to bring us back again when we have been separated from him. He does not sweep away the lives of those he cares about." When I think about our lives - my life -being like water spilled out on the ground. I see the concrete driveway with the water poured there. It makes a mark, a dark spot. The water sinks in. I can't pick it back up. There is no way to retrieve it. Like words once said cannot be taken back. The water poured out cannot be taken up and poured out again in another way or another place. Our lives, the decisions we make leave a mark. Good or bad, they cannot be redone. No do-overs.
Married at 18 - Sinks in
No College - Sinks in
How we raise the kids - Sinks in
Taking the job - Sinks in
Walking away - Sinks in
Yes, No, Go, Stay
Everything we do has consequences. Living our lives in the manner that God wants us to live them is what really counts though. Sometimes the decisions we make can cause us, for whatever reason to get off track - to move further away from our Savior. For one reason or another, maybe selfishness, or laziness, or simply indifference, we find ourselves choosing the wrong path. That path may not be a road with deep pot holes and rugged pits. It may be a smooth simple path, but not the one God chose for us. That still leads us away from God. This scripture tells us that God "devises" or "plans" ways to bring us back to him. God himself comes up with ways for us to be brought back into fellowship with him. I can just see God saying "Oh, There she goes again, Okay this is what I'll do. She will see me here and come back my direction." I love how it says he devises ways or plans ways for us to be brought back into fellowship with him when we goof. I love the next part of this scripture as stated in the New Living Translation. It may just be the thoughts of someone on the scripture, but it is truthful when it says He does not sweep away our lives just because we dirty them. He cares about us. I plan to do more thinking on this scripture and how our lives are like water spilled out on the ground.